Exclusive: Henry Cavill Producing Spartan Kings Movie, Details Revealed

Henry Cavill will both produce and star in the upcoming Spartan Kings from Legendary Pictures.

By Michileen Martin | Updated

Henry Cavill immortals

He may be putting down his Witcher‘s blade soon, but he’s not sheathing all of his swords. Our trusted and proven sources have let us know that Henry Cavill will not only be starring in but producing Spartan Kings, an upcoming historical epic from Legendary Pictures. The film follows a group of warriors who must defend their homeland from a powerful enemy.

It’s tempting to wonder aloud if Henry Cavill’s position as producer of Spartan Kings — and it will mark his first time in the role — has something to do with whatever made him leave Netflix‘s The Witcher. There have been a bunch of conflicting stories about what separated Cavill from one of his signature parts, but just about every rumor has at least one spot of common ground: a reported dispute between Cavill and the producers. Perhaps his experiences on The Witcher, whatever they were, have taught the actor to get a stronger hand on the reins.

We don’t know if the title of Spartan Kings is meant to be taken literally — meaning it would likely take place some time between Sparta’s founding around 900 BC and its loss of independence in 192 BC — or if the film will cover another time in history and the word “Spartan” is simply meant as a descriptor.

At first, it might sound like with Spartan Kings, Henry Cavill is going over ground his old collaborator Zack Snyder already covered. Especially with the word “Spartan” in the title of the upcoming feature, it sounds quite a bit like Snyder’s 2006 epic 300. But assuming we can even take the title literally and that Cavill will be playing a Spartan, the city-state’s war against the Persian Empire was hardly the only military conflict it ever faced.

Henry Cavill
Henry Cavill in Immortals (2011)

If Henry Cavill is playing one of the titular warriors of Spartan Kings, then it won’t be his first time playing a hero living in that time period, though as a historical epic it will hopefully be a little less mythical. One of Cavill’s leading roles right before he became a household name in Man of Steel was in 2011’s fantasy action film Immortals. Cavill played Theseus, the demigod son of Zeus (though in other stories he has a different origin, including sometimes being the son of the sea god Poseidon).

Before Henry Cavill shows up in Spartan Kings, he’s still got one season left of The Witcher before Liam Hemsworth takes over as Geralt of Rivia. No firm release date has been announced for Season 3 of The Witcher, but it’s expected to arrive on Netflix sometime this year.