Firebrand – The new film starring Alicia Vikander and Jude Law will be with us in September

MetFilm Distribution has announced 6 September as the UK and Ireland cinema release date for Karim Aïnouz’s English-language feature debut, FIREBRAND. The cast is led by Alicia Vikander (EX MACHINA, THE DANISH GIRL) as Katherine Parr with Jude Law (SHERLOCK HOLMES, THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY) also starring as King Henry VIII.

Based on Elizabeth Fremantle’s 2013 novel Queen’s Gambit, the film is a moving portrait of a unique character in history that has previously been untouched on the big screen.

In blood-soaked Tudor England, Katherine Parr, the sixth and last wife of King Henry VIII, is named Regent while tyrant Henry is fighting overseas. Katherine has done everything she can to push for a new future based on her radical Protestant beliefs. When an increasingly ailing and paranoid King returns, he turns his fury on the radicals, charging Katherine’s childhood friend with treason and burning her at the stake. Horrified and grieving, but forced to deny it, Katherine finds herself fighting for her own survival.

Karim Aïnouz is an award-winning filmmaker and visual artist. He debuted as a director with MADAME SATÃ in Cannes Un Certain Regard in 2002, while FIREBRAND debuted In Competition also in Cannes. This year, Aïnouz presented MOTEL DESTINO also In Competition in Cannes.

The supporting cast is rounded out by Simon Russell Beale (THE DEATH OF STALIN, HOUSE OF THE DRAGON), Eddie Marsan (RAY DONOVAN, BACK TO BLACK), Ruby Bentall (THE SERPENT QUEEN, POLDARK), Bryony Hannah (CALL THE MIDWIFE, THE LAST DUEL) and Sam Riley (CONTROL, REBECCA).

MetFilm Distribution is part of the MetFilm Group. It is a new boutique film distribution company with a curated slate of fiction and documentary titles. Previous releases include Louis Garrel’s THE INNOCENT, Helen Mirren’s Golda Meir biopic GOLDA and Gareth Davis’s FOE starring Paul Mescal and Saoirse Ronan. MetFilm have also just released WILDING — 2024’s biggest documentary, and upcoming later in September is Cedric Kahn’s THE GOLDMAN CASE.