Ridley Scott to direct 'The Last Duel'

[𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔥 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯]

Ridley Scott, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck Team on Revenge Film 'The Last Duel'

Ridley Scott looks to have his next directing job, as he has signed on to direct "The Last Duel" with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck attached to star.

Damon, Affleck and Nicole Holofcener penned the script with Scott, Damon and Affleck all producing along with Scott's producing partner Kevin Walsh. The project has been set up at Fox for some time, and it's still unknown if Disney will keep it or if it will be shopped elsewhere.

The pic is set in 14th century France and follows a man who goes to war and returns to discover a friend of his has raped the his wife. No one will believe the woman, and the soldier appeals to the king of France and says he wants to fight a duel to the death to decide the man's fate, becoming the last legally sanctioned duel in France.

The film marks two special occasions: it's the first time Damon and Affleck have starred in a film together since "Good Will Hunting," a film that also won them the Oscar for best original screenplay. It's also the first time Damon and Scott have worked together since "The Martian."


Timing for production is still unknown, as Damon is expected to shoot Participant's "Stillwater" next month, but it likely means Scott will push back production on the Disney movie "Merlin."

Scott, Damon and Affleck are all repped by WME. The news was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.

https://variety.com/2019/film/news/ridley-scott-matt-damon-ben-affleck-last-duel-1203275674/

[Ingwar]

I just opened the same topic. You were quicker!

[𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔥 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯]

Your's contain more information so I'll post it here as well:

Here's a major movie that is coming together quickly. I'm hearing that Ridley Scott is going to next direct The Last Duel, a revenge story based on a novel by Eric Jager. The plan is for Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to star in the film. The script is almost done, written by Damon, Affleck and Nicole Holofcener. This is happening quickly and would be the first collaboration on a script between Damon and Affleck to get made since their Oscar winning work on Good Will Hunting.

Scott and Kevin Walsh are producing for Scott Free and Damon and Affleck are producing through their Pearl Street banner. The book has been at Fox for some time, and it will be interesting to see if it fits the template of Disney, which controls the script after acquiring Fox. As you will see from the description, this is not for the faint of heart and evidenced by the book's full title, which is The Last Duel: A True Story of Trial by Combat in Medieval France.

It's a revenge story of two best friends. Damon and Affleck will play them. The main characters are the Norman knight Jean de Carrouges and the squire Jacques Le Gris. They were friends. One goes to war and returns to accuse Le Gris of raping his wife Margerite de Carrouges. No one will believe the woman, and the soldier appeals to the king of France to undo a decision handed down by Count Pierre d'Anencon, which favored Le Gris. The decision handed down is that the two men fight a duel to the death. The one left alive would be declared the winner as a sign of God's will. And if Jean de Carrouges loses, his wife will be burned at the stake for punishment for her false accusation.

Scott returns to collaborate with Damon for the first time since the Best Picture nominated The Martian, and Walsh worked with Damon producing the Best Picture nominated Manchester By The Sea.

If Disney doesn't step up, I'm told every studio in town is waiting in the wings for this one. Scott would push back Merlin, the formative pic on the wizard at Disney.

This is getting around quickly because Damon was photographed by Yahoo carrying a script. Now you know what it's all about. There truly are no secrets anymore.

Scott will be turning to the subject matter he covered. He made his feature directorial debut on The Duellists, a 1977 drama about a feud between two officers in the Napoleonic Era.

https://deadline.com/2019/07/ridley-scott-matt-damon-ben-affleck-the-last-duel-14th-century-tale-fox-disney-nicole-holfcener-kevin-walsh-1202650734/

Ridley Scott started his film career with the The Duellists, it would be ironic if The Last Duel were to be his last movie

[Ingwar]

Ridley Scott started his film career with the The Duellists, it would be ironic if The Last Duel were to be his last movie

Hope not. Otherwise it would be literally his last duel as a filmmaker.

Ridley Scott is an enigma. So many projects and so many unmade. It looks like Wraiths of the Broken Land will never happen. Shame because the book is truly great. What about Merlin?

[𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔥 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯]

Mmm... both Variety and Deadline reckon he'll push back Merlin in favour of this. If they were going to shoot Merlin in Fall it should have been in pre-production by now. I haven't seen any movement apart from TA Barron's mentioning of meetings in LA. Wraiths has likely been added to his vast list of unmade projects by now. 

Anyway, lets keep two threads going for this movie, just for shits and giggles. 

[Ingwar]

Mmm... both Variety and Deadline reckon he'll push back Merlin in favour of this.

Or they will find different director.

Sometimes I don't understand Scott. He always wanted to make Western. What is he waiting for? Another period drama? He's done The Duellists, 1492: Conquest of Paradise, Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Robin Hood and Exodus: Gods and Kings.

[𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔥 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯]

Or they will find different director.

Now I'm beginning to wonder about that recent picture of TA Barron and Peter Jackson.    Especially considering PJ is friends with both Barron and Boyens and is best known for his high-grossing LotR & Hobbit fantasy movies.

Merlin was already supposed to have begun shooting in fall last year. Don't think Disney would brook another delay from Scott if it was in fact Scott who delayed it in the first place.

On the other hand, Matt Damon begins shooting another movie next month. That will probably keep him busy for at least the next two months. Scott could probably start shooting Merlin by September and wrap in November.

Either way, there's another book for your reading list now: 

[Ingwar]

Yeah, it's on my reading list now. And you might be right about Peter Jackson.

[𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔥 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯]

So Scott is busy doing location scouting in Southern France. Could it be for the Last Duel which takes place in France?

Happy & honored pilots 😊 Thank you Mr Ridley Scott for flying with us

https://www.instagram.com/p/B10_xIToJ9T/

[Ingwar]

France in Kingdom of Heaven was shot in Spain so god knows what he's planing to do next. It's good to see him scouting. One thing is certain, it's not gonna be Merlin.

[𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔥 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯]

Yeah, the sunny Mediterranean coast doesn't really strike me as Merlin-esque type scenery. I think Merlin was originally slated to shoot in Ireland (same as Boorman's Excalibur) and England (Shepperton Studios, where Alien was filmed).

The Duellists also takes place in France and was shot in France so I suspect he might do the same for The Last Duel. Where was the beginning of Kingdom of Heaven shot, the section that takes place in France, was that also Spain?

[Ingwar]

Where was the beginning of Kingdom of Heaven shot, the section that takes place in France, was that also Spain?

Yeah, that's Castle of Loarre in Aragon, Spain which is not far from France. But then again, maybe back in the day this part of Spain belonged to France. I'm no historian.

[𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔥 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯]

Could be, the borders of European countries were constantly changing in the Middle Ages as wars raged across the continent.  And Aragon is right up against France's Southern border today.

I think the Outremer (Crusader states and Jerusalem) scenes were shot in Morocco IIRC? Same place Black Hawk Down and Gladiator's North African scenes were shot.

[Ingwar]

According to Wikipedia:

Filming took place in Ouarzazate, Morocco, where Scott had previously filmed Gladiator and Black Hawk Down, and in Spain, at the Loarre Castle (Huesca), Segovia, Ávila, Palma del Río, and Seville's Casa de Pilatos and Alcázar.

[𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔈𝔦𝔤𝔥𝔱𝔥 𝔓𝔞𝔰𝔰𝔢𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔯]

Ouarzazate, that's the place! Ouarzazate was also used as reference by the art department for the Engineer city in Alien: Covenant. Parts of Lawrence of Arabia was also shot there and Lawrence of Arabia is of course also referenced in both Prometheus and Alien: Covenant.



Anyway, should be interesting to see what comes of this scouting expedition of Scott. There was no mention whatsoever of the Merlin Saga at last weeks D23 Expo. Nothing on Disney's list of upcoming movies for the next two years. So I'm assuming that's on hold and Scott's going ahead with The Last Duel now.