The Last Kingdom film now has a release date

Emily Gulla

Tue, 14 February 2023 at 12:25 pm GMT

The Last Kingdom series five landed on Netflix last year, and was sadly confirmed as the show’s final season. However, that doesn’t mean the world of the fantasy drama is over, as a The Last Kingdom film is officially on the way, titled Seven Kings Must Die. Time to get excited!

The Netflix series is based on The Saxon Stories novels by Bernard Cornwell, with seasons one to five covering the first 10 books (two books per season). That means there are still three novels that haven’t been covered by the series, and – looking past the season five ending – fans have been wondering where the world of The Last Kingdom will go next.

Here’s everything we know about The Last Kingdom film, aka Seven Kings Must Die, so far…

What is The Last Kingdom film’s release date?

In an announcement on 14th February, The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die’s released date was confirmed. The film will debut on Netflix on the 14th April, 2023, aka, in two months time.

Speaking about the film, star and executive producer Alexander Dreymon told Variety, “It has been such an honour to be part of telling this story for all these years. As an actor, I have been so challenged and gratified by the privilege of playing Uhtred. Hanging up Uhtred’s sword after filming Seven King’ felt, ironically, heavy – even though I know that our tale has reached its conclusion.

“As an EP on the show, I could not be more proud of the hundreds of people who spent thousands of hours to make the best product possible. As for our loyal fans…what can I say? You are the reason we’ve reached this point and got to bring our saga to the end. This, as it always has been, is for you.”

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When will The Last Kingdom film take place?

Netflix has commissioned Seven Kings Must Die as a two-hour film which will act as a sequel to The Last Kingdom TV series, following on from the events of season five. While the film will serve as an epilogue to the main show, it’s also set to take form as a standalone story separate from the series’ main storyline – meaning new viewers will able to follow the plot.

Speaking at MCM London Comic Con, The Last Kingdom producer Nigel Marchant explained, “Although season five fully concludes the series, there was always one more story that we wanted to tell. With the brilliant support of Netflix and continued appetite from the fans to see more, we simply couldn’t resist one last journey with Uhtred.” [via Digital Spy].

When did The Last Kingdom film start production?

Filming on Seven Kings Must Die took place throughout 2022. Series lead Alexander Dreymon (Uhtred of Bebbanburg) confirmed the start of shooting via an Instagram video from set posted on 31st January 2022, adding the caption, “Filming begins on the TLK Special: SEVEN KINGS MUST DIE!” Can’t wait!

What have producers said about The Last Kingdom film?

Discussing the decision to end The Last Kingdom TV series, Marchant told the Radio Times, “In terms of season five, we felt these two central strands of the story were coming together and it was the natural point to finish the TV series. Over the five seasons there was a very definite beginning, middle and end, so it was a group decision that we came to.”

Going on to share details about the film, Marchant added, “However, we did know there were a few more books (not to spoil anything!) following on from where we get to at the end of season five. So we did start to talk to Netflix fairly early about whether we could tell that end piece of the jigsaw so that it would feel complete.”

Adding more about the movie, Marchant explained, “And it was felt that the movie version was the right format to do that. Season five does feel like the end of the TV series, and the movie will be much more standalone. It’ll be an extra treat for the fans of the TV series, but you could also watch it even if you’ve never seen the TV show.”

Who will star in The Last Kingdom film?

The cast of Seven Kings Must Die has been kept firmly under wraps so far, and not much has been announced just yet. However, it has been confirmed that Alexander Dreymon will be returning as series lead Uhtred of Bebbanburg (thanks to his Insta video from set), so that’s one piece of very good news. Dreymon’s video also featured co-star Arnas Fedaravicius (who plays Sihtric), confirming that he’ll be returning too.

The pair are said to be joined by a mixture of new and returning cast members, so we’ll expect more announcements to be on the way soon.

Is there a trailer for The Last Kingdom film?

There’s sadly no trailer to watch just yet. In the meantime, there are five whole seasons to re-watch, or you can catch up on filming secrets from the cast below.

The Last Kingdom seasons one to five are streaming on Netflix now.