The first full-length trailer for Medieval, a historical epic starring Ben Foster as Czech hero Jan Žižka, has dropped following the release of a teaser trailer in May. Titled Jan Žižka for the Czech market, the film will hit Prague cinemas on September 8 alongside a limited release in other markets including the United States.
At an estimated budget of $500 million crowns, Medieval is being billed as the most expensive Czech movie ever made. The movie was shot four years ago, during the summer of 2018, ahead of a lengthy post-production process that included postponements due to the pandemic.
Alongside Foster as legendary 14th century general Jan Žižka, Medieval also stars Michael Caine, Til Schweiger, Sophie Lowe, Roland Møller, Matthew Goode, and William Moseley among its impressive international cast. Local talent featured in the movie includes Karel Roden as King Wenceslas IV.
Medieval was written and directed by Petr Jákl, a former stuntman and actor who appeared in Prague-shot Hollywood movies such as xXx and Alien vs Predator. Jákl previously directed the true-crime drama Kajínek and the English-language found footage horror movie Ghoul.
Medieval takes place during a time of chaos in the Holy Roman Empire, when Kings Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia (Roden) and Sigismund of Hungary (Goode) are vying for the throne. Žižka, a young mercenary during the events of the film, is hired by Lord Boresh (Caine) to kidnap Lady Katherine (Lowe), the fiancée of Lord Rosenberg (Til Schweiger), to prevent his rise alongside Sigismund.
Jan Žižka is one of the most prominent figures in Czech history: his towering equestrian statue looks out over Prague from the the top of Vítkov Hill (and was recently featured in The Gray Man, standing in for Baku). The nearby Prague neighborhood of Žižkov is named after him.
Most famous as the Hussite military leader during the Hussite Wars, Žižka legendarily defended Prague from about ten thousand invading crusaders with a force of 80 soldiers atop Vítkov Hill. Despite being completely blind by the end of his military career, Žižka is said to have never lost a battle leading Hussite forces against invaders during three separate crusades.
Medieval, meanwhile, is set before Žižka’s military career. Despite the presence of real-life historical figures (apart from characters played by Caine and Lowe), the narrative of the movie appears to be entirely fictional, and only “inspired by true events.”
Those interested in something closer to Žižka’s real story should check out Otakar Vávra’s 1950s Hussite Revolutionary Trilogy Jan Hus, Jan Žižka and Against All, each starring Zdeněk Štěpánek as Žižka. At the time of production, those movies were considered the most expensive Czech films ever made.
Medieval will hit Czech cinemas on September 8. While the movie was filmed in English, it will (presumably) predominantly play in a Czech-dubbed version in local cinemas.
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