Great news for fans of Netflix‘s British historical fiction series The Last Kingdom who were dreading its impending end with next year’s fifth and final installment. Deadline reports that Netflix is set to produce a feature film continuation of the historical drama series.
Actor Alexander Dreymon, who stars as the main character Uhtred and acts as executive producer on the show, made the announcement at London MCM Comic-Con today. Titled Seven Kings Must Die, the two-hour feature will be backed by Carnival Films and filming will begin early next year in Budapest. Dreymon will reprise his role and will be joined by many of the series' cast, along with some new faces.
“It’s been such a privilege to tell Uhtred’s story for five seasons,” Dreymon said. “I’m so grateful to our fans. They have been immensely loyal to The Last Kingdom and thanks to their support, the team is getting together for another round.” Next year’s fifth and final season is set to “fully conclude” the series according to producer Nigel Marchant, but “there was always one more story that we wanted to tell” which is what the movie will cover.
The series is based on Bernard Cornwell’s Saxon Stories and began in 2015, first as a BBC series until Netflix joined the production team as co-producers for the show’s second season prior to nabbing full rights for the rest of the series, propelling the show’s fan base steadily since the third season. The show centers on a period of history around the year 866, just following the Great Heathen Army’s arrival in Britain and the Kingdom of Wessex’s resistance to ongoing Viking attacks in Southern England at the time.
The film will be produced by NBCUniversal International Studios’ Carnival Films, with Dreymon executive producing alongside writer Martha Hillier. Ed Bazalgette will direct with Gareth Neame, Mat Chaplin, and Marchant producing.