Looks like all that dueling with a crossguard lightsaber may have just come in handy for Adam Driver. In “The Last Duel” trailer, he is going fence Matt Damon in a knightly fight to the death. The characters may claim it is to uphold their honor, but the movie seems to be about the blurred line between honor and pride.
The plot seems simple enough. Knight Jean de Carrouges (Damon) accuses his squire (Driver) of raping his wife (Comer). Because this is medieval France, the only way to settle this is to hit each other until someone dies. Can anybody say “toxic masculinity”?
“The Last Duel” is directed by the famous Ridley Scott, who has collaborated with Matt Damon before on “The Martian” in 2015. Damon, Adam Driver, and Ben Affleck are all starring in the movie, which means we got Jason Bourne, Kylo Ren, and Batman in medieval times with the guy who directed “Alien.” What more could you ask for? Scott’s involvement is interesting given the film’s subject matter. While the male leads are the center of a lot of buzz, the protagonist seems to be Jodie Comer’s character, Marguerite. It is her perspective that the story takes place in.
The film is based on the true events as recounted in Eric Jager’s book “The Last Duel: A True Story of Crime, Scandal, and Trial by Combat in Medieval France.” It was unclear if Disney was actually going to release the film following the Disney/Fox merger. Maybe Mickey Mouse didn’t like Affleck. Don’t worry; I too thought “Argo” was overrated. Regardless, Deadline reported later that if they dropped the project every other studio would be waiting to pick it up. Thus, Mickey overcame his hatred of “Jersey Girl” and we have a medieval movie on our hands!
“The Last Duel” will arrive in theaters on October 15th.
