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With the family adventure film The Kid Who Would Be King opening in theaters this weekend, I recently sat down with writer-director Joe Cornish for an extended video interview. He talked about why it took so long to make a second film after Attack the Block, the many projects he has worked on the past few years, why he wanted to tell a story saying anyone can be a hero, his casting process, if John Boyega is still sending him thank you cards for changing his life, what he learned from early screenings, why Patrick Stewart is like Sean Connery in Time Bandits in this film, and more.

If you haven’t seen the trailers, The Kid Who Would Be King is the long-awaited second film from director Joe Cornish. The family friendly film is so well done and it’s a modern take on the King Arthur legend where a young boy named Alex (Louis Ashbourne Serkis) stumbles across the mythical Sword in the Stone and must unite his friends and enemies into his own Knights of the Round Table in order to defeat a wicked enchantress, played by Rebecca Ferguson. The film also stars Sir Patrick Stewart, Dean Chaurnoo, Tom Taylor, and Angus Imrie.

As Matt Goldberg said in his review:

“Cornish’s film crafts a story that’s thoughtful, funny, cute, and charming for both kids and adults. Rather than lean on the narrative of a “Chosen One” who is special because of his birth or station, The Kid Who Would Be King empowers its young audience to recognize the Chivalric Code of King Arthur and how they can be heroes and leaders for a fractured world.”

Check out what Joe Cornish had to say in the player above and below is exactly what we talked about followed by the official synopsis.

Joe Cornish:

• Why did it take eight years to make a follow up to Attack the Block?
• How he has another script that’s in pretty good shape and hopes to make another movie soon.
• Does he still get thank you cards from John Boyega for changing his life?
• He’s got an eye for casting…
• How Patrick Stewart is like Sean Connery in Time Bandits since it’s a lot of unknowns with a big star showing up once in a while.
• Talks about the casting process.
• What did he learn from early screenings that impacted the finished film? Talks about making it a bit less frightening and trimmed up the pace.
• How he was cast as a background actor in Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
• How in both The Kid Who Would Be King and The Last Jedi, the message of the film is that anyone can be a hero.

Here’s the official synopsis for The Kid Who Would Be King:

Old school magic meets the modern world in the epic adventure The Kid Who Would Be King. Alex (Ashbourne Serkis) thinks he’s just another nobody, until he stumbles upon the mythical Sword in the Stone, Excalibur. Now, he must unite his friends and enemies into a band of knights and, together with the legendary wizard Merlin (Stewart), take on the wicked enchantress Morgana (Ferguson). With the future at stake, Alex must become the great leader he never dreamed he could be.