The movies love dogs just as much as people do, and 2024 is bringing a new movie featuring an incredible pup in Arthur the King. The movie is actually based on a true story of a dog that formed an unbreakable bond with a team of adventure racers.
The dog movie is a movie genre dating all the way back to Rin Tin Tin, but in more recent years has seen hits in the form of Channing Tatum's Dog, The Art of Racing in the Rain and Dog Gone. So Arthur the King is joining a strong group of pup projects on the big screen that have won over audiences' hearts.
Before Arthur does, he is everything you need to know about the movie.
Arthur the King release date
Arthur the King is scheduled for a March 22, 2024, premiere. That is the movie's US release date. At this time, we don’t have any info on when it is going to be released in the UK or other territories.
Arthur the King cast
Let's be honest, the number one star of the movie is the dog that is playing Arthur, but we don't have any info on them yet, so let's focus on his human co-stars.
Mark Wahlberg leads the way as the pro adventure racer Michael Light who connects with Arthur. Wahlberg has been a major star for decades, with roles in classic movies like Boogie Nights, The Departed, The Fighter and The Other Guys. More recently he has starred in Father Stu, Uncharted and Me Time. He also has another 2024 movie on the way in The Family Plan.
Joining Wahlberg as part of the Arthur the King cast are Simu Liu (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), Nathalie Emmanuel (Fast X), Ali Suliman (The Swimmers), Paul Guilfoyle (Don't Look Up) and, appearing as himself, Bear Grylls.
Arthur the King plot
As we said, Arthur the King is based on a true story told in the book Arthur: The Dog Who Crossed the Jungle to Find a Home by Mikael Lindnord. Here is the official synopsis of the movie from Lionsgate:
"Over the course of 10 days and 435 miles, an unbreakable bond is forged between pro adventure racer Michael Light (Mark Wahlberg) and a scrappy street dog companion dubbed Arthur. Based on an incredible true story, Arthur the King follows Light, desperate for one last chance to win, as he convinces a sponsor to back him and a team of athletes (Simu Liu, Nathalie Emmanuel and Ali Suliman) for the Adventure Racing World Championship in the Dominican Republic. As the team is pushed to their outer limits of endurance in the race, Arthur redefines what victory, loyalty and friendship truly mean."
The Arthur the King script was written by Michael Brandt.
Arthur the King trailer
Watch the trailer for Arthur the King here and try not to immediately fall in love with the pooch:
Who is Simon Cellan Jones?
Simon Cellan Jones directed Arthur the King. While Jones may not be overly familiar to most movie fans (he has only directed a couple of feature-length movies, Some Voice, The One and Only and Eroica in the early 2000s), he is a prolific TV director who has worked on some of the biggest shows around. This includes the recent hit The Diplomat, as well as Ballers, Jessica Jones, Bloodline, Treme and Boardwalk Empire, to name a few.
