Before Star Trek, Patrick Stewart Was In An Epic Dark Fantasy Movie About King Arthur
Star Trek and X-Men icon Patrick Stewart's death on October 28, 2026 at age 86 has sent fans looking fondly back at the legendary actor's work. People keen to experience the many sides of Stewart's abilities are no doubt planning to spend the next days digging into his most famous roles, like Star Trek's iconic Captain Picard, but they may also seek out fun oddities like his turn as Gurney Halleck in David Lynch's "Dune," which became a cult classic, as well as his version of Ebenezer Scrooge in a dark take on "A Christmas Carol."
For Stewart fans who are keen to experience the actor's lesser known work, we have a particularly interesting recommendation. In 1981, long before Star Trek would be in his life, Stewart appeared in a glittery, dreamlike fantasy movie called "Excalibur." The gorgeous, Academy Award-nominated film tells the legend of King Arthur, with Nigel Terry playing the central character. Stewart appears in a prominent role as King Leodegrance, an early ally of Arthur and the father of his eventual bride, Guenevere (Cherie Lunghi).
Excalibur is an ambitious telling of Arthurian legends that was almost a Lord of the Rings movie
Directed by John Boorman and written by Boorman with Rospo Pallenberg, "Excalibur" is a true epic fantasy that has a cast for the ages, especially by today's standards. Apart from Patrick Stewart, the number of big names in the movie is outright amazing. From Helen Mirren as the villainous Morgana and Liam Neeson as Gawain to Ciarán Hinds as King Lot and Gabriel Byrne as Uther Pendragon, a viewer will have a great time spotting famous faces as the movie rolls on.
The tone of "Excalibur" is deliberately episodic and almost resembles a stage play; one that centers around various short stories with an interconnecting theme — namely, Arthur's life and eventual death. However, it was originally meant to be a completely different movie.
Years before "Excalibur" took shape, Boorman set out to make an adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings." When budgetary reasons caused that project to morph into Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated version, Boorman moved toward Arthurian legend, using similar visual designs as what he'd planned for his Tolkien film. In other words, "Excalibur" isn't just a fascinating and beautiful movie. It's also the closest we ever got to seeing Stewart in a "The Lord of the Rings" film.