How would you do it?

I would re-release the best King Arthur movie, Excalibur (1981), into theaters / streaming / etc.

I'd forget history and go for epic. I'd make it "high contrast" with gleaming armour, sunny days, and fluttering pennants, and then plunge it into dark shadows, grim combat, and horrible consequences.

I'd focus on Arthur being a wise king, great ruler, and a man who is brought down by his few mistakes. I'd put some effort into developing the love triangle between Arthur, Lancelot, and Guenivere so that the audience - ideally - wouldn't know which way to side.

I'd aim for the characters to feel real, even though the world was not.

And if anybody on my production suggested CGI, I'd fire them.

Definitely not like that one with Jude Law and the other dude whose name I already forgot.

I would make it an origin story, but set in reality, no magic. Merlin would just be an advisor/marketer, maybe impress the citizens with some ahead-of-his-time chemistry and fireworks. Sort of like the Camelot show on Starz, but a lot better.

Show Arthur rising to power slowly through combat skill, leadership, fairness and justice, attracting battle-hardened knights who had given up on Britain and had just been defending their own fiefdoms. Uniting the scattered kingdoms of Britain against the Saxon/Norman/Viking threats, defeating superior forces with battlefield brilliance and the targeted impact of his elite unit of mounted knights.

I have seen a few King Arthur movies now. The 2004 film was just boring.

The only one I liked enough to buy is Excalibur, which is a nice enough film right up to the point where we are introduced to Launcelot. That is the moment this film goes from an alright film to a masterpiece. One brilliant scene after another. John Boorman deserves tremendous praise for what he accomplished.

I think I'd make Arthur black.

Queen Arthuria - Viola Davis

Merlina the Witch - Michelle Yeoh

Lady Lancelot - Zendaya

Mr Guinivere - Timothée Chalamet

Gal Galahad - Melissa Barrera