‘Hold Excalibur’ Brings Back the Welsh Version of Arthur

Hold Excalibur to re-tell the story of King Arthur, filming in some of Wales’ best-known beauty spots

Welsh production company Secret Planet plans to ‘recruit the Welsh nation’ behind the project, involving whole communities in scenes, with workshops in costume-making and stage combat leading up to each shoot

A star-studded fantasy feature film production is set to come to Wales this year. Hold Excalibur is an action-filled Fantasy full of magic and adventure. It tells the story of King Arthur, but this is not the tale made famous by The Sword in the Stone or Monty Python and The Holy Grail. This is the original, and it’s Welsh.

The version of the Arthurian legend that we know was written in 1485 by an Anglo-French nobleman called Thomas Malory. He took the original Welsh stories of King Arthur, recorded some four centuries earlier, and moulded them for his audience. Sir Lancelot and The Holy Grail are both later additions, and Merlin is a corruption of the Welsh original name Myrddin, which sounded rude to French ears (merde!).

Welsh production company Secret Planet aim to conquer the world with a version of the story from the original Welsh sources such as The Book of Taliesin and The Mabinogi. However, this isn’t another historical yarn. This is a full-blown Fantasy – more Lord of The Rings than Braveheart.

“Tolkien was in love with Welsh folklore and the Welsh language, and Peter (Jackson – director of The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit) and others spent millions simulating a landscape and a lore that we already have here”, director Dan Freeman says.

However, it’s not just the content of the stories that mirrors Jackson’s work. The Hold Excalibur team are recruiting the Welsh nation behind the project. “Fantasy is a Welsh export”, enthuses producer George Dixon, “this is where it all began. We want to show the world the real fantasy land with the real ancient language, the landscape, the castles and of course, the monsters!”.

The production will take in the most beautiful of Wales’ beauty spots, with the company electing to film in real places not only to give the production authenticity, but to make sure that the country benefits from the ensuing film tourism. They plan to involve whole communities in crowd scenes, with workshops in costume-making and stage combat leading up to each shoot.

The story takes place in the Wales of myth and legend, where lone warriors roam and enchantment lingers in every glade. Gone are the anglicised figures of Gawain and Bedevere, instead the original Welsh heroes such as Bendigeidfran and Branwen are restored.

In an age of lying leaders, perhaps Arthur is the hero we need now.

As the film’s prophecy says:
Take courage.
Look to the West.

A king will come.

There are more details of how to get involved at https://secretplanet.co.uk/pages/hold-excalibur

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