King Arthur: Why The Mage Replaced Guinevere In Legend Of The Sword

In King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, the character of the Mage (Astrid Bergès-Frisbey) was originally intended to be Guinevere, and here’s why it changed during the production of the film. Released in 2017, Guy Ritchie directed King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, which stars Charlie Hunnam as the legendary Arthur, and Jude Law as the villainous Vortigern. King Arthur: The Legend of the Sword also stars Aiden Gillen as Goosefat Bill, Djimon Hounsou as Sir Bevidere, and Mikael Persbrandt as Greybeard.

Intended to be the first of a six-film cycle that was to become a King Arthur cinematic universe, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword was a box office bomb that reportedly lost Warner Bros. $150-million. Just as every studio in the mid-to-late 2010s was rushing to copy Marvel Studios’ success in creating a cinematic universe, the plan was for King Arthur to establish Charlie Hunnam’s “Born King” as the saga’s centerpiece hero before introducing other characters like Merlin and Lancelot in their own spinoffs. All of the Arthurian legends would finally unite in an Avengers-style team-up movie that would fully reboot King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. The box office failure of King Arthur: The Legend of the Sword immediately put an end to Warner Bros.’ misguided ambitions.

One of the critical changes King Arthur: Legend of the Sword made to the Arthurian story is replacing Guinevere with a mystical warrior called the Mage. Astrid Bergès-Frisbey was originally cast to play Guinevere, who is Arthur’s wife. But, as Charlie Hunnam explained to Den of Geek, the reasons Guinevere morphed into an entirely new character during was production was, “partly the film, and partly the actor dictating that is was going to be something different, and Guy having the confidence and versatility to just roll with it.” Hunnam added that French and Spanish actress Astrid Bergès-Frisbey was “very instrumental in terraforming” Guinevere to a new character they named the Mage.

Charlie Hunnam also cited that, on set, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey was “very uncompromising in the way she saw that character, and it was a bit more aggressive” than what was initially in the script. As the director, Guy Ritchie was, in turn, “very sensitive” to the changes Bergès-Frisbey wanted for [Guinevere’s] character, and the decision was ultimately made to rework her into the Mage. Although the Mage has no backstory or origin, she becomes a vital help to Arthur, who couldn’t have survived the events of the film without her. The Mage was also sent by Merlin, who is woven into King Arthur: Legend of the Sword’s mythology although the wizard’s appearance was being held back for a future spinoff.

According to Charlie Hunnam’s rationale, since King Arthur: Legend of the Sword was an origin story and also intended to be the first of several films, it made more sense not to include the Arthur and Guinevere love story. This way, Legend of the Sword would be focused entirely on Arthur’s journey to embrace his destiny as King. This would have allowed Guinevere’s introduction and her romance with Arthur (and later Lancelot) to be the basis of a future film in the grand King Arthur plan.

Like most of King Arthur: Legend of the Sword’s characters, the Mage isn’t from Arthurian legend. However, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey’s Mage is reminiscent of Keira Knightley’s reimagined Guinevere in 2004’s King Arthur. Knightley played Guinevere as a Pict warrior who was also in league with Merlin. Both Knightley’s Guinevere and Bergès-Frisbey’s Mage are a far cry from the classic depictions of Guinevere as King Arthur’s wife in 1981’s Excalibur and 2021’s The Green Knight. It’s unclear if the Mage was still going to reveal herself as Guinevere had King Arthur: Legend of the Sword‘s sequels materialized, but changing Guinevere to the Mage was, like the movie itself, a bold swing and a miss.

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