Disney is developing a live-action adventure movie titled Knights that will be set in the Middle Ages, and the studio has tapped Operation Finale scribe Matt Orton to write the script, Collider has confirmed.
The story is said to follow a headstrong young woman who joins a knight in his quest to destroy a world-threatening artifact before it falls into the wrong hands.
According to Deadline, Knights is expected to be a theatrical title rather than a Disney+ release, and Disney's live-action executives Jessica Virtue and Chaz Salembier will oversee the project on behalf of the studio.
Virtue is a senior staffer at Disney who has worked on the Emma Stone movie Cruella and the live-action remakes of Mulan and The Little Mermaid, while Salembier has worked on the upcoming Disney+ movie Lady and the Tramp.
Disney is developing several projects set during the same Medieval time period, including Ridley Scott's The Merlin Saga as well as a Sword in the Stone remake from director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and Game of Thrones scribe Bryan Cogman. That seems like a lot, quite frankly, and I'd be surprised to see Knights leapfrog either of those fellow development projects, given the talent involved and the familiarity of the IP. Having said that, I am personally sick of all things relating to King Arthur and Merlin, and would much rather see Knights get made ahead of the others.
Orton, oddly enough, is writing a Battle of Britain movie for Scott to produce and potentially direct, as well as a political thriller titled Reason of State for Black Bear Pictures. He's represented by WME, Grandview and The Agency.
Disney will close out its banner 2019 with Maleficent: Mistress of Evil starring Angelina Jolie, the animated sequel Frozen 2, and J.J. Abrams' sure-to-be emotional Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, while the studio's 2020 slate includes Mulan and the Dwayne Johnson-Emily Blunt movie Jungle Cruise, as well as Marvel's Black Widow and The Eternals. For an explanation of all the characters in The Eternals, click here.
