The Green Knight Used The Same Smart Tactic As Marvel's Disney+ Shows - Screen Rant

The Green Knight used the same smart tactic as Marvel’s Disney+ shows. David Lowery’s adaptation of the famed medieval poem about Sir Gawain’s quest gave the story an update while also remaining true to its spirit. As a character, Sir Gawain is lesser known than other medieval figures and the A24 film leaned into that aspect and embraced it completely, following in the footsteps of Marvel shows Loki, WandaVision, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Sir Gawain (played in The Green Knight by Dev Patel) is the nephew of King Arthur and one of the knights of his famed round table. However, Lowery’s film, while it includes older versions of Arthur and Queen Quinevere, turns its attention to Gawain, a young up and comer who has yet to prove himself worthy to become a knight. To that end, The Green Knight acts very much like his origin story as he’s challenged by the titular character and must follow through on his end of the promise he made to allow the Green Knight to strike him. The film could have chosen to give Arthur and Guinevere (as well as Arthur’s sister Morgan Le Fay) more focus, to be bigger players in the grand scheme of things, but Lowery opted to center Gawain only, with his journey and growth being the core of the story without distraction from more famous characters.

To that end, The Green Knight is incredibly similar to the Marvel Disney+ shows. Loki, while following the adventures of the famous trickster god, introduced a plethora of new characters to shine, many of whose histories and stories are lesser known to fans. What's more, despite already being a well-known and beloved character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Loki was still playing second fiddle to his brother Thor, who was the primary focus in several feature films. This is similar to Gawain and King Arthur's dynamic as well. In lore, Gawain's name is recognized, but he still doesn't hold a candle to his far more famous uncle.

The Disney+ shows did the same thing with WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, shifting the narrative to give the supporting characters, rather than their more famous teammates, their long-overdue arcs. The Scarlet Witch barely had a story at all in the MCU before her Disney+ show; fans knew nothing about Sam Wilson’s personal life before his series, either, and he was constantly in Captain America’s shadow. This same idea works in The Green Knight's favor. There aren't as many expectations regarding what the story might be or how it should be executed. Gawain's characteristics and journey also get to develop separately and on David Lowery’s own terms without being beholden to as many previous live-action adaptations, which is not the case with King Arthur.

There's too much history with Arthur and an oversaturation of his stories, whereas The Green Knight has more freedom with Gawain precisely because he isn’t as well-known. Gawain gets to flourish without being overshadowed by his aunt and uncle, or even Merlin or Lancelot, who are just as famous as Arthur and Guinevere. The result sees media that is focused on characters who aren’t as notable getting to stand out on their own merits and the stories being all the better for it.

Next: Will There Be A Green Knight 2? Everything We Know

The MCU Should Have Copied Star Wars' Hiatus After Rise Of Skywalker's Failure

Related Topics

About The Author

Mae Abdulbaki (583 Articles Published)

Mae Abdulbaki is a movie reviews editor with Screen Rant. She previously wrote about a variety of movies and TV shows for Inverse, CinemaBlend, Pajiba, and The Young Folks, where she wrote reviews, features, news pieces. Her other work can be found at The Mary Sue, Film School Rejects, UPROXX, Heroic Hollywood, Looper, The List, and Bam Smack Pow, among others. Mae has also appeared on television segments, podcasts, and panels to discuss all things entertainment.