The Kid Who Would Be King

Twelve-year-old Alex Elliot is an ordinary British schoolboy, low in confidence and often picked on, until he happens upon a sword stuck in stone and learns it is Excalibur, the weapon of King Arthur. When the medieval sorceress Morgana threatens to take over the world, Alex has to bring together a band of knights drawn from his friends and his tormentors, with the legendary wizard Merlin guiding them.

Joe Cornish wrote and directed the film, his second feature after Attack the Block (2011), and it was produced by Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Nara Park through Working Title and Big Talk. Louis Ashbourne Serkis plays Alex, alongside Dean Chaumoo as his friend Bedders, Tom Taylor and Rhianna Dorris as the bullies turned allies, Denise Gough as Alex's mother, and Angus Imrie as the young Merlin. The 21 credited cast members and 101 credited crew supported a production costing about 59 million US dollars.

Released in January 2019, the film took in roughly 32 million dollars worldwide against that budget. Audiences rate it modestly, at 6.1 out of 10 on IMDb from around 20,000 votes and 6.2 out of 10 on TMDB from 866 votes. Film critics were somewhat warmer, giving it 6.9 out of 10 across 193 reviews.