"Guineveeeeeeere had green eyes…"
To play the female lead opposite Charlie Hunnam's Arthur in KNIGHTS OF THE ROUNDTABLE, Guy Ritchie's enlisted the talents of relative unknown Astrid Berges-Frisbey.
Berges-Frisbey is a Spanish-born actress who made her English-language debut playing the only nice mermaid in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES. She also co-starred opposite Brit Marling and Michael Pitt in this year's I ORIGINS.
I belive Ritchie is still planning six films for this series, and the first one would only portray the earlier stages of the Arthur/Guinevere romance, before Lancelot enters the picture and begins the decline of the not-yet-existant Camelot. Here, "the love story is in the blooming stages, with the young princess saving the young prince and helping him believe in himself." Sounds like we can expect another "fighting Guinevere" after Keira Knightley's ass-kicking turn a decade prior, back in her "tomboy beanpole" days.
I thought Berges-Frisbey was just ok as the literal fish-out-water in ON STRANGER TIDES, but that flick was certainly no showcase for any actor's talents (including showboats like Depp, Ian McShane, Penelope Cruz, and even Geoffrey Rush). Ritchie is the dude who helped make stars out of Jason Statham, Mark Strong, Toby Kebbell, and Tom Hardy, and was the first one to give Elizabeth Debicki a prominent role in the wake of THE GREAT GATSBY, so if he says she's worth six films worth of screentime, I lean towards believing him.
So they got an Arthur, a Guinevere, and a Bedivere. Expect to hear word on a Lancelot and Merlin fairly soon.
KNIGHTS OF THE ROUNDTABLE: KING ARTHUR has to push the pram a lot on July 26th, 2016.
