The Last Kingdom, Seven Kings Must Die, has made it difficult to determine the age of Uhtred of Bebbanburg in the upcoming Netflix movie.
The trailer for The Last Kingdom, Seven Kings Must Die, makes the age of the main character, Uhtred of Bebbanburg, even more, difficult to decipher. The Last Kingdom is based on Bernard Cornwell's The Saxon Tales, which covers several decades of English history through the eyes of Uhtred. The Last Kingdom closely follows the main events of the book series, so it's supposed to take place at the same time.
The Last Kingdom has taken increasing liberties from the narratives as the adaptation has grown, however, and the show may decide to alter the timeline of events. The Seven Kings Must Die timeline is expected to cover the famous Battle of Brunanburh, which took place in 937 and resulted in what most historians consider the first unification of England under a single king. This battle is likely to be the endpoint of the film and the conclusion of the story of Uhtred of Bebbanburg.
"Seven Kings Must Die makes the age of Uhtred even more confusing"
The confusing thing about Uhtred's age in Seven Kings Must Die is that by the end of the book, Uhtred is about 70 years old. Furthermore, Uhtred was born around the year 856 according to the books, making him over 80 years old by the time the Battle of Brunanburh was fought in 937. The Seven Kings Must Die segment shows Uhtred looking 35, which is the same age he appears to be on him. Be around the last kingdom. This is a pretty extreme contradiction for a series that usually maintains a higher level of loyalty to its source material.
"How Seven Kings Must die could change the lifespan of Uhtred"
Seven Kings Must Die can change Uhtred's lifespan compared to the books by speeding up the historical events it covers. This is a widespread tactic when writing historical novels and Cornwell did it in The Saxon Tales. Seven Kings Must Die will just have to shift the connection a bit and move events by 20 years or so. Animating the real-life events that Seven Kings Must Die is based on would allow the movie to keep Uhtred somewhere in his late 30s or 40s.
The trailer for Seven Kings Must Die has already shown that Uhtred hasn't aged significantly, suggesting that the movie uses this strategy. Given how much fan love for Uhtred comes from his youth and fighting prowess, it makes sense that Seven Kings Must Die would want to avoid aging the character too far. Furthermore, in The Last Kingdom, Uhtred ages quite a bit, so it would probably come as quite a shock to audiences if he was 20 or older for the movie. However, accelerating the historical timeline of Seven Kings Must Die is the right choice.
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The Last Kingdom