SCOTTISH Twitter was aflutter yesterday as streaming giant Netflix finally unveiled the official trailer for new Robert the Bruce movie Outlaw King.
The big-budget film stars US actor Chris Pine – best known as Captain James T Kirk in the rebooted Star Trek franchise – as the Scots king, with England’s Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who made his name in Mark Millar comic adaptation Kick-Ass, playing Sir James Douglas.
The one minute clip gives a taste of the battles, politics and violence awaiting audiences in the drama by Perthshire filmmaker David Mackenzie, which also features Scots talent including James Cosmo, Steven Cree and Tony Curran.
The feature focuses on one of the most infamous chapters of the Scottish Wars of Independence, when England’s King Edward I declared Bruce an outlaw and attempted to stamp out support for his cause.
In the clip, Douglas can be heard counselling Bruce, whose family has been persecuted, telling him: “Thinking about revenge? It tears out the soul. But it can also be a weapon.”
Bruce can also be heard stating that he is “done with running” and aims to “take the land back castle by castle”, before telling troops assembled for battle: “You can fight for God, for country, for family. I do not care, so long as you fight.”
Filmed at locations across Scotland including Linlithgow Palace, Doune Castle and Glasgow Cathedral, the production will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next month before opening in selected cinemas and on Netflix in November.
Holyrood agency Creative Scotland named it the largest project of its kind to be made here, while Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop declared that the flick will show Scotland’s “rich history, stunning locations and creativity to the world”.
Yesterday the trailer was already gaining interest in Italy, France, the US and other locations.
Responding to the trailer yesterday, some Scottish fans on social media said it looked “awesome”, others “epic”, while one wrote the result looked “insanely good”.
Comments relating to Pine’s accent were mixed.
However, some users complained of “historical inaccuracies” and others questioned why a Scot had not been cast in the title role.
Commenting on the fact fears, one user wrote: “No film can be 100% historic (you’d need a 1000 hour tv show for that!) but this looks a not bad effort.”
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