The Kid Who Would Be King premiere: On the red carpet with Joe Cornish, Sir Patrick Stewart, Louis Ashbourne Serkis and cast

The Kid Who Would Be King arrives eight years after Attack the Block but director Joe Cornish hasn’t lost his momentum over this period as he’s delivered another whip-smart adventure, this time inspired by the great family films of the 80s. Andy Serkis’s youngest born, Louis Ashbourne Serkis, proves to be a leading actor in his own right as the plucky young Alex, the Arthurian obsessive who discovers the sword of Excalibur and unknowingly awakens the diabolical sorceress Morgana. Genuinely exciting, very funny, and immaculately cast, The Kid Who Would Be King is an effectively modernised throwback to the family friendly yarns that we just don’t see anymore.

We were there at the London premiere to speak with the cast and director. Joe Cornish spoke about having the idea of The Kid Who Would Be King in his head for so long, capturing the effect that the 80s adventure films had on him in a fresh way, his favourite contemporary live-action kids movies, and his future plans including the potential of collaborating with Edgar Wright.

Louis Ashbourne Serkis talked to us about his favourite part of playing protagonist Alex Elliot, his favourite King Arthur story, wishing to play a superhero, and his advice for kids watching the film.

Sir Patrick Stewart finally got to play a wizard like his friends Ian McKellen and Michael Gambon, so we asked him what he imagines a conversation between Merlin, Gandalf and Dumbledore would be like.

We spoke to Rebecca Ferguson about her spin on the sorceress Morgana La Fay, playing villains and what she hopes for Ilsa Faust in the upcoming Mission: Impossible sequels.

We asked Denise Gough what drew her to this project, the dynamic between her and co-star Louis Ashbourne Serkis, her favourite films as a kid, and staying tight-lipped about Game of Thrones.

Angus Imrie spoke to us about playing the younger form of Merlin, synchronising his performance with Sir Patrick Stewart’s, and why The Kid Who Would Be King is an important story for its young audience.

Dean Chaumoo, who plays Alex’s best friend Bedders, talked to us about his reaction to being cast in his first feature, what his family think of the film, and what he and the cast got up to between filming.

We spoke to Tom Taylor about playing a meaner Lancelot, working with Joe Cornish to modernise the character, what he hopes for Lance should there be a sequel, and his ideal place in the Batman universe.

Rhianna Doris spoke about her character Kaye’s character arc and why it’s significant to the themes of the movie, elaborating on the vital takeaways of The Kid Who Would Be King for the young generations.

Musanna Ahmed
Videos: Cristiana Ferrauti

The Kid Who Would Be King is released nationwide on 15^th February 2019.

Watch the trailer for The Kid Who Would Be King here: