Even with Ridley Scott directing, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon on to co-star/co-write and Nicole Holofcener also working on the script, historical drama The Last Duel is not yet a sure thing. But as Fox (and its Disney owners) figures out whether to flash the greenlight, the project has gained another name as recent Emmy winner and Killing Eve star Jodie Comer is in talks to co-star.
The script adapts Eric Jager's book The Last Duel: A True Story Of Trial By Combat In Medieval France. For this one, the main characters are the Norman knight Jean de Carrouges and the squire Jacques Le Gris., who used to be friends. One goes to war and returns to accuse Le Gris of raping his wife Margerite de Carrouges (Comer, assuming this all goes ahead). No one will believe the woman, and the soldier appeals to the king of France to undo a decision handed down by Count Pierre d’Anencon, which favored Le Gris. The decision handed down is that the two men fight a duel to the death. The one left alive would be declared the winner as a sign of God’s will. And if Jean de Carrouges loses, his wife will be burned at the stake for punishment for her false accusation...
There has been some criticism of the subject matter and questions as to whether it should go ahead at all, but it certainly still seems to be on track. Comer is about to start shooting the third season of Killing Eve and has worked with Ryan Reynolds on video game comedy pic Free Guy. As for The Last Duel, it'll start shooting early next year if the pieces fall into place.