“ | This book you covet, Alexander... Not bad. Pretty illustrations, but... not entirely accurate. Remember, legends are mere rumors whispered down the centuries. Written and rewritten, told and retold. Sometimes by the rich and powerful so they can hold on to power. The sword doesn't care who your parents are. It doesn't choose by birth or blood, Alexander, but by heart and mind. If your legends say different, then perhaps... you must write them anew. | „ |
~ Merlin encouraging Alexander by deconstructing everything people knows about legends, the tale of King Arthur and Excalibur included, and pointing out the real reason why he was chosen as the next wielder of Excalibur. |
Alexander "Alex" Elliot is the main protagonist of the 2019 fantasy movie The Kid Who Would Be King. He was originally just a normal kid who used to try & step away from bullies, but that all changed the day he found out he was chosen by the legendary Sword Excalibur to stop the evil sorceress Morgana and would eventually grow up into being the new king over all england.
He was portrayed by Louis Ashbourne Serkis.
The Kid Who Would Be King[]
Early Life[]
Alex Elliot lives with his mother after his father supposedly went away. The latter of which had given him a book about the knights of the round table with a note to him that reads: "To Alex, my once and future king."
One day as Alex goes to school, he saves his best friend Bedders from being picked on by the bullies Lance and Kaye. He is reprimanded by the principal after picking a fight with Lance and is told he needs to change before being sent to detention, which is something he takes to heart.
Find Excalibur[]
The next night, after school and detention, Lance and Kaye chase Alex as payback until our hero winds up at the construction site. There, he discovers a mysterious sword and pulls it from a huge stone. Alex calls Bedders to examine the sword and deduce that it is actually Excalibur, The legendary Sword in the Stone originally wielded by the legendary King of England, Arthur Pendragon, though they initially laugh at that idea, Alex then playfully "knights" Bedders with the sword, unaware with what will come later.
Meeting Merlin & Beginning his quest[]
The next day, a teenager named "Mertin" appears at Alex's school and, seeing him as the latest target for being bullied and not wanting to get in trouble again, He and Bedders try to avoid him but he appears to be stalking them all day. Eventually, The kid confronts him and informs him about going on a quest after learning that a solar eclipse is happening in four days, and when he tries to rally people with him, he gets food thrown at him and to everyones surprise, he turns into an owl and flies away, prompting Alex to return the sword tomorrow morning.
Later that night when Alex is reading, he is attacked by a fiery undead knight, and his mother is nowhere to be found, before the knight can kill him, Mertin rescues him and tells him to meet him at a restaurant. After getting into a disagreement with his mother, he and Bedders head to the restaurant, where they discover that Mertin is in reality the wizard Merlin capable of aging backward, but will occasionally shift into his elder Arthurian form. From him, Alex learns that the monster that came to get him last night, was one of many Mortes Milles, whose spell will only allow them to attack by night and kill the one who wields Excalibur and those he knighted, while everyone else will disappear. He also learns that once the eclipse happens, the Mortes Milles & their queen, the wicked sorceress & Arthur's half-sister Morgana, whom Arthur imprisoned in the underworld, will be free to possess Excalibur and conquer the world, though Alex is hesitant to stop her at first, he is convinced to go on the quest after Merlin shows he & Bedders a future vision if they fail.
Deducing that he's a descendant of King Arthur and that his dad might know how to defeat Morgana, Alex and Bedders decide to go to Tintagel, Arthur's birthplace, to try and find him, during that time, they're ambushed by Lance & Kaye, and needing more allies to save the world, knights them and together, they fend of the Mortes Milles and agree to go to Tintagel together: with Alex leaving a note to his Mom before leaving.
Journey to the Underworld[]
Alex leads the group to Tintagel via stonehenge, where Merlin has them honour The Chivalric Code to ensure that they stay true of heart, as only a knight of that calibur can slay Morgana. En route, Merlin trains them in swordsmanship. But when Morgana infiltrates the lesson, Lance betrays Alex and takes the sword for himself. Merlin barely saves them, and Excalibur is destroyed when Alex and Lance come to blows in a marsh. As Lance and Kaye start to leave, Alex calls upon the Lady of the Lake, Excalibur's guardian, whose arm emerges from the water and restores the sword. Resolving their differences and rededicating themselves to the quest, the four bump into a group of riders who offer to take them to Tintagel, but when night comes and they disappear, they learn how to ride the horses and manage to evade the Mortes Milles by leading them of a cliff. The group finally make it to their destination, where Alex knows he must go and find his missing father. He comes across his aunt, who to his shock, reveals that it was his mother who wrote him the message in the book, not his father, who was a drunk, showed no compassion to anyone and abandoned both of them. Realizing that his mother had been lying to him from the very start, Alex declares her hatred for her and throws the book away in anger.
Bedders comes to his aid and comforts him, and after meeting back up with Merlin, he to comforts Alex and tells him Excalibur doesn't choose it's wielder who their family was, but who they are on the inside (revealing that Excalibur didn't choose Arthur because he was a prince, but because he was a righteous man in the inside). With his confidence back, the group head to Glatsonbury Tor, where Arthur battled and sealed Morgana away, and entering via the last tower, they find their way to the Underworld, but Morgana captures Bedders, Kaye, and Lance. Alex, out of rage, plunges his sword into Morgana's chest, believing Morgana to be dead, Alex throws Excalibur back into the water where the lady of the lake catches it, just after the others kneel before him with Lance quoting: "All hail the once and future king", (much to his embarrassment).
The Final Battle[]
Returning home, Alex learns to his shock that he merely wounded her, and discovers that he himself had broken the chivalric code, by dishonoring her mother, waking her up and talking about his dad, she apologizes for her lie because she knew if he had known the truth to begin with, it would've made him more heartbroken, she reconciles with his mother and stuns her by summoning the Lady of the Lake into the bathtub, where he regains Excalibur.
Meeting up with the others and informing them what he had discovered, Alex makes a plan to stop Morgana with Merlin fighting beside them (as once the eclipse happens, it won't be night or day which'll allow him to join them). With the eclipse coming and knowing the five of them won't stand a chance against Morgana and her Army, Alex rallies his entire school and, after telling everything they've witnessed, knights all of his classmates to stand up to Morgana and her forces. They fortify the entire school and once the eclipse happens, they wage a fierce fight with undead knights, despite their best efforts, the army of demons soon overwhelm them, they then head for the 2nd phase of their plan and have everyone gather in secret to bait Morgana for Merlin to seal her and Alex to vanquish her for good.
Merlin engages in a final showdown with Morgana, but when he transforms into an Owl, she burns him and wounds him. Alex and his friends come to his aid and heal him with a liquidized form of the ingredients he needs to restore his strength, enabling him to open a portal to the underworld. Driven by the love of his friends and family & with his nemesis caught in the vortex, Alex jumps on to Morgana and strikes her neck and, before she could set fire on him, Alex finally destroys Morgana by completely beheading her with Excalibur and sending her back down to the Underworld, obliterating her army in the process, ending her reign of terror once and for all.
Epilogue[]
With Morgana finally dead, Alex and his friends are congratulated for their deeds by Merlin, who reassures them that despite nobody believing what they experienced, they can still continue to grow and become great leaders and lead the world into a brighter future, taking these words to heart and with a newfound belief in justice, Alex tosses Excalibur back into the water for the lady of the lake to catch, ready for the next challenges life may to throw at him, cause he knows he'll face it together with the ones he loves to the end.
Powers and Abilities[]
Chivalry - Alex possesses an innate ability to manifest great courage and nobility at all times, especially in the face of adversity. Alex expresses a desire to maintain order and are well rounded in many aspects. He is well versed in the seven knightly virtues and some are as zealous as to try and destroy that which they see as impure, as well as suffering from psychological stress due to having to suppress their natural instincts and desires. His selflessness and compassion makes them very charismatic and they soon earn the trust of those around them.
He is determined and their enthusiasm allows them to master whatever they put their minds into. Although knights may have an indomitable will, most fall prey to mental control and illusions because of their constant absence of their personal needs. If their will is strong, however, and they do not easily fall prey to temptations. His greatest weakness is, indeed, the over-trust in their dogmas, the trust in those who are closest to them and their naive disposition.
As maintainers of the status quo, knights expect those alongside them to behave properly, however, they are always loyal to them to an extreme degree, to the point that they may even give up their lives for those who become their allies. Certain kinds of animals have an affinity, such as war-dogs and horses, due to their loyalty to their masters and great reliability in times of conflict.
Trivia[]
- Alex is played by Louis Ashbourne Serkis, who is Andy Serkis's son.