There’s a new historical epic on the horizon. And, no, we’re not talking about a certain swords and sandals sequel. Di♉rected by Nick Hamm, William Tell is a fresh cinematic take on the fabled Swiss marksman that could do for crossbows what Gladiator did for gladius swords. Best known for shooting an apple off his son’s head and that joyful Overture later co-opted by The Lone Ranger, Hamm’s feature adaptation is a long-overdue account of a legendary folk hero’s iconic story.
Set in Switzerland in 1307 it stars Claes Bang (Dracula, Bad Sisters) as Tell, a huntsman and veteran of the crusades who retur🐟ns home looking to settle down with his family. But with the country facing aggression from neighbouring Austria in their pursuit for more land, Tell once again takes up arms, putting him in the path of Gessler (Connor Swindells) – the vindictive viceroy to Austria’s brutal ruler (Ben Kingsley).
“It’s great playing a nasty piece of work like Gessler because the possibilities o💖f what you can get away with are endless,” Swindells tells Total Film magazine in the꧒ upcoming issue, which features a preview of William Tell. “I never thought I would get an opportunity like this in my career, so I’ve taken every minute of it with pure joy.”
Take an ex♕clusive look at Swindell’s armour-clad Gesౠsler in the heat of battle below:
Swindells – best known as fan-favourite Adam in Netflix’s Sex Education – is far from the only rising, largely British star in the stacked cast. Also appearing are Jonah Hauer-King (The Little Mermaid), Ellie Bamber and Amar Chadha-Patel (Willow), Solly McLeod (The 🗹Dead Don’t Hurt) and Jake Dunn (Renegade Nell); alongside the 🌞more established likes of Kingsley, Jonathan Pryce, Golshifteh Farahani, Rafe Spall and Emily Beecham.
William Tell will receive its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, on September 10th. There is currently no US or UK release date. You c☂an read more about it and a whole lot else besides in the new issue of Total Film featuring The Penguin on the cover when it releases on Thursd🦄ay 12 September.
Read much more about the issue here, and check out the covers below:
I'm the Managing Editor, Entertainment here at GamesRadar+, overseeing the site's film and TV coverage. In a previous life as a print diﷺnosaur, I was the Deputy Editor of Total Film magazine, and the news editor at SFX magazine. Fun fact: two of my favourite films released on the same day - Blade Runner and Th🐟e Thing.
