10 Arthurian Tales That Deserve The Green Knight Treatment
10 Arthurian Tales That Deserve The Green Knight Treatment
The Arthurian canon is one of the oldest literary collections known to man. Many of its stories deserve a modern rendition like the Green Knight’s.
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Gone are the days where Arthurian fiction is merely a relic of bygone literature and cinema. A24’s most recent achievement, David Lowery’s The Green Knight, has proven that there is a place in modern film for Arthurianstories and that they can be retold in a way that is thrilling, gripping, and effortlessly stylish.
This begs the question, what other Arthurian stories would benefit from such a treatment? The canon of Arthur and his knights stretch back over countless centuries, back to the days when they could only be orally passed down, so there are more than enough stories to be told to a modern audience. From Lancelot’s trials to the misunderstood Mordred, these tales possess a rich cinematic potential that, with the right creative team, could be every bit as satisfying as Lowery’s movie.
10 Arthur’s Childhood
One of Disney’s most underrated animated classics is the timelessly charming Sword In The Stone, which centers on a young Arthur’s discovery of Excalibur and his friendship with the most magical version of Merlin to date. It is such an endearing take on one of the oldest origin stories in the history of fiction, and a retelling would certainly still grab viewers in a similar way.
This is especially true in this era of reboots: since Disney is already “remastering” several of their old movies, why not this one? Perhaps its charm might find a better home with an indie studio, sure, but that doesn’t negate how delightful any reboot of this story could be.
9 Lancelot’s Trials
The novel The Once and Future King is often considered to be THE modern literary rendition of the Arthurian canon, thanks to its brilliant author, T.H. White. White was a radical man who sought to reflect his beliefs through his work, from the anti-war sentiments of his era, to his portrayals of main characters.
Many literary scholars have interpreted his version of Lancelot, therefore, to be an extension of himself. Throughout the novel, Lancelot goes through intense inner turmoil and self-loathing, which some believe is a mirroring of White’s own struggles with his sexuality. Whether or not this hypothesis is true, it would certainly bring some welcome representation to the canon for a modern film to expand upon this Lancelot.
8 Tristan And Isolde
As one of the most famous love stories in literary history, the tale of Tristan and Isolde would definitely have a place within the modernization of old romances. Although it has been brought to film quite a few times by now, it could still do with a more modern take on love.
Perhaps it would benefit most from an indie perspective, in particular Sofia Coppola’s. Her best movies, like Marie Antoinette and The Virgin Suicides, are genre-defying renditions of literary and historical romances that bring a pop-culture touch and sentiment to old classics, which makes them more accessible to newcomers of the genre.
7 The Mists Of Avalon
This novelization is one of the most revolutionary and controversial of the modern Arthurian canon. It brought a much-needed feminist perspective to a very traditionally patriarchal story, yet it was written by a person whose actions were deplorable. (Trigger Warning: please don’t look the author up if sensitive to accounts of sexual abuse.)
Therefore, it deserves a remaster with proper care and attention and done by someone who will bring justice to a narrative that deserved to be in better hands. After all, no other story has dared to make the longstanding female villain, Morgan Le Fay, an actually sympathetic and well-rounded character, and it’s a shame that this is the only popular account of a narrative that has done so.
6 Gareth, The Kitchen Knight
This is one of the most fun stories within the canon, and it’s a surprise and a shame that it hasn’t been brought to the limelight yet. In this story, Gareth – the youngest son of Lot – wants to prove himself without using his lineage to help him become a knight.
So, he disguises himself as a scullery boy, and when a maiden comes calling for a knight to save her sister, he leaps at the opportunity. To save the sister, he has to fight through three “levels” of knights, all of who are more dangerous than the last. It’s the sort of story that a director could really have fun with, in the same sort of vein as Edgar Wright’s adaptation of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World.
5 Lancelot, Elaine, And Brave Sir Galahad
Because of the heavy religious influences on the canon over the years, many Arthurian adaptations tend to depict Galahad and his conception as something of a holy miracle. However, this family’s story is one of utter tragedy, and a modern depiction of the realities of this tragedy might just be a revolutionary turn for the canon.
Essentially, Lancelot is tricked and coerced into conceiving a child with Lady Elaine, and when he realizes what’s been done, he leaves her. Elaine dies not long after Galahad is born, and Lancelot spends most of his life ignoring the boy. The fact that so many renditions of this story gloss over the trauma this family endures is insensitive at best, and an honest examination of how Galahad became who he is due to his circumstances would certainly make for a better story.
4 The Questing Beast
Often used as a comedic aside in the canon, the futile hunt for the strange “Questing Beast” would certainly make for entertaining cinema. King Pellinore, determined to prove his worth as a king, spends decades tracking the creature, often to no avail whatsoever.
He is often accompanied by allies, and so the image of a bumbling group of fools traversing the woods for what’s essentially a chimera…at the very least, it would be funny to watch. Perhaps it would benefit from the silly, whimsical direction that Taika Waititi, in some of his best films, typically takes in his more experimental films such as What We Do In The Shadows and Hunt For The Wilderpeople.
3 The Knighting Of Percival
Although his name is one of the more popular, well-known names of the canon, Percival’s role within it is somewhat awkward. He has no defined presence and has often been interchangeable with other knights, most notably Galahad, whom he journeys with during the Quest for the Holy Grail.
Therefore, it might be a fun idea to play on all of his identities and tell a simple, yet fun hero’s origin story with Percival. Most of the time, he is raised alone by his mother, until he is inspired by a group of traveling knights through the woods. This is a classic opening for a good story, and considering his fluid role within the canon, it might behoove modern creators to cement his identity with a faithful retelling!
2 Guinevere’s Love
Poor Queen Guinevere. She is rarely depicted in a relatable, humanistic light, often being shown as either a wholly devoted wife with no personality of her own, or a shameless adulterer who delights in making her husband suffer. No novelization has considered how young she was when she married, and how little of a choice she had.
So, a modern retelling might attempt to portray her in a more sympathetic light, starting with how it was Lancelot who rescued her when she was kidnapped, and why she’s fallen for a man closer to her age. It also might highlight how she was alone in a castle full of men, as well as how conflicted she felt over her marriage to Arthur.
1 Mordred’s Uprising
Similar to Percival, Mordred’s origins are often disputed amongst authors, yet all seem to stem from a place of “inherent” evil. Not only is this lazy writing, but it also leaves out all the possibilities for a more intriguing narrative: why is Mordred so “evil?” Why must his life end with Arthur’s death?
BBC’s Merlin made a great attempt to answer this question, but a new story focusing solely on Mordred could go even further. It could explore his origins, perhaps focusing on his abusive childhood with his mother Morgause, and how conflicted he might feel upon coming to court and realizing Arthur is much kinder than his mother made him out to be.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/best-arthurian-tales-that-deserve-the-green-knight-treatment/
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