Entertainment
21 Years Later, Ridley Scott’s Expensive Historical Misfire Redeems Itself on Streaming
Ridley Scott is hard at work on his next movie, The Dog Stars, which is coming to theaters this August. But over 20 years ago, he directed a massive historical misfire that’s redeeming itself on streaming. Scott recruited Orlando Bloom (The Lord of the Rings) and Liam Neeson (Taken) to star in Kingdom of Heaven, the 2005 historical action epic following Balian of Ibelin, who travels to Jerusalem during the Crusades of the 12th Century. Kingdom of Heaven is streaming exclusively on Starz in America, but globally, the film is charting in the PVOD top 10 in Italy and several other countries.
Kingdom of Heaven’s Orlando Bloom is best known for his sharp-shooting role as Legolas in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings movies. Fans everywhere are waiting to learn if he’ll reprise the role in the next LOTR movie, The Hunt for Gollum, which comes out next year. Michael Sheen, an Emmy nominee for his role in The Special Relationship, also has a sizable role in Kingdom of Heaven, along with Eva Green and Martin Hancock. Green is famous for her role as Vesper in Daniel Craig’s James Bond debut, Casino Royale, which first hit theaters in 2006.
William Monahan wrote the script for Kingdom of Heaven and Ridley Scott directed the film. For Scott, it came just a few years after he worked with Russell Crowe on Gladiator, the Oscar-winning historical masterpiece currently streaming on Paramount+. Kingdom of Heaven earned a poor 39% rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, but a more favorable 72% on the audience-driven Popcornmeter. It cost $130 million to make Kingdom of Heaven, yet the film only returned $214 million at the global box office.
When Does Ridley Scott’s Next Movie Come Out?
Ridley Scott’s next movie, The Dog Stars, will be released exclusively in theaters on August 28. The film was previously scheduled to be released in March, but it was pushed back five months to give Scott and the post-production team more time to polish up the final cut. Jacob Elordi and Josh Brolin have been tapped to star as leads in the film, along with Margaret Qualley and Guy Pearce. Plot specifics are being kept under wraps, but it has been confirmed to be set in a post-apocalyptic world, following a group of roaming survivors known as the Reapers. Elordi is playing the protagonist, Hig.
Be sure to check out Kingdom of Heaven on Starz in America, and stay tuned to Collider for more streaming updates.
- Release Date
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May 6, 2005
- Runtime
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144 Minutes
- Writers
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William Monahan