When his wife is raped by his friend, a knight is forced to pursue trial by combat to find justice. This is the story of the last legally sanctioned duel in French history.The Last Duelis an epic historical drama directed by the iconic filmmakerRidley Scott.
The movie boasts an ensemble cast, includingMatt Damon,Jodie Comer,Adam Driver, andBen Affleck. Damon and Affleck also co-wrote the screenplay alongsideNicole Holofcener(Can You Ever Forgive Me?).The Last Duelis absolutely chock-full of award winners and it also has a powerful human story, making this a movie you have to watch. So read on for all the details that have been revealed so far including release dates, plot, characters, trailers, and more.
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Watch The Last Duel Trailer
The trailer forThe Last Duelwas released on August 19, 2025. The video introduces the main characters and outlines the basic plot of the movie. It also reveals more about what’s at stake during the duel. It’s possible that more trailers may be released as we get closer to the release date. But for now, this trailer alone is quite intriguing.
When Is The Last Duel’s Release Date?
The Last Duelis currently set to arrive in US theaters on June 28, 2025. The movie was originally scheduled to have a limited theatrical release beginning on June 15, 2025, and a wider release starting June 29, 2025. However, those plans were scrapped as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the theatrical premiere was delayed to the present date. Ahead of its release,The Last Duelpremiered at the Venice Film Festival in September 2021.
Who Is in The Last Duel’s Cast?
The Last Duelhas a decorated cast of actors essaying the main roles. Matt Damon, Adam Driver, and Jodie Comer play the key figures in the story, while Ben Affleck appears as a major supporting character.
Other cast members announced for the movie includeHarriet Walter(Sense and Sensibility),Nathaniel Parker(The Inspector Lynley Mysteries),Sam Hazeldine(The Hitman’s Bodyguard),Michael McElhatton(Game of Thrones),Alex Lawther(The End of the F***ing World),Marton Csokas(The Equalizer),Željko Ivanek(Damages), andClive Russell(Game of Thrones).
Is The Last Duel Getting Good Reviews?
Following the film’s debut in Venice,The Last Duelhas received mixed-positive reviews, and sits at 67% on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of this publishing.In his Venice review for Collider, Rafael Motamayor gave the film a glowing review, giving it an “A-” rating and praising everything from the ensemble of performances to the epic fight scenes.
“A movie about a duel to the death over the rape of a woman, written by two men, had a lot of skepticism riding against it, but The Last Duel rises against any skepticism with a nuanced, complex script, phenomenal performances that should be studied in acting class, and some of the best medieval fight scenes put to the screen.”
Who Are the Characters in The Last Duel?
InThe Last Duel, Matt Damon plays Jean de Carrouges. A knight with estates in Normandy, Carrouges is one of the men who take part in the historic duel that this story revolves around. Harriet Walter plays Nicole de Buchard, Carrouges’ mother.
Adam Driver plays Jacques Le Gris, the other party in the duel. Le Gris was Carrouges’ friend until he is accused of raping Carrouges’ wife, Marguerite. He then continues to claim innocence, even when faced with the possibility of death during trial by combat.
Jodie Comer appears as Marguerite de Carrouges, the woman at the heart ofThe Last Duel. Marguerite accuses Jacques Le Gris of raping her but because there are no other witnesses, she is in turn accused of bearing false witness and making baseless claims. While her husband sees the duel as the best way to get justice, her life is also on the line, just as much as his.
Nathaniel Parker plays Marguerite’s father, Sir Robert de Thibouville. Sam Hazeldine appears as Thomin du Bois, her cousin.
Ben Affleck plays Count Pierre d’Alençon, a nobleman who was lord and master to both Carrouges and Le Gris. Affleck was originally set to play Le Gris but chose to pass on the lead role and play the Count instead.
Besides these characters, the movie also features Marton Csokas as Crespin, Michael McElhatton as Bernard Latour, and Alex Lawther as King Charles VI.
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When Did The Last Duel Film?
Filming onThe Last Duelbegan on June 19, 2025, in Dordogne, France. The movie was shot in the medieval castle of Berzé-le-Châtel in Burgundy. Filming in France continued until June 12, 2025.
After France, the production was set to move to Ireland, where the movie would have been filmed from June 11, 2025, to July 13, 2025. The Irish leg of production was scheduled to shoot scenes at Bective Abbey, County Meath and Cahir Castle, County Tipperary, and a number of other locations across Dublin and County Wicklow.
However, with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent travel restrictions in Europe, the studio was forced to delay the shoot indefinitely. Filming didn’t resume until late September. Production in Ireland finally wrapped on July 16, 2025.
Is The Last Duel Based On A True Story?
Yes,The Last Duelis in fact based on real events. All the characters involved were real people and the actual historic duel between Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris has been written about extensively by both historians and legal scholars.
While the rape of Marguerite de Carrouges was the inciting incident for the duel, Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris had a long history of bad blood in real life.
Historians have suggested that property disputes, money, and the favor of Count Pierre had driven a wedge between the two men long before the actual crime and subsequent trial. Carrouges was a Norman knight who had had a number of disputes with his lord, Pierre d’Alençon. Le Gris was a rich man and the count’s favorite, which made him a rival of Carrouges’s.
The two men had eventually buried the hatchet and become friends but some resentment lingered between them. The rape merely pushed these grievances back to the surface and created an opening for the two men to try and destroy each other. We don’t know how much of this history will be shown in the movie but suffice to say, this story isn’t as simple as it may appear.
The writing team, Damon, Affleck, and Holofcener, took this complexity into account while drafting the screenplay. The script was reportedlywritten from three different perspectivesin order to fully do justice to each of the main characters.
“So, there are two knights and then there’s the Lady Marguerite,” Matt Damon toldET. “So Ben and I wrote the male perspectives and Nicole Holofcener wrote the female perspective. That’s kind of the architecture of that movie.”
The movie is an adaptation of the 2004 bookThe Last Duel: A True Story of Trial by Combat in Medieval Francewritten byEric Jager. An adaptation of Jager’s book was first announced in 2015 withFrancis Lawrenceas director andShaun Grantwriting the screenplay. However, that project eventually died out. The current adaptation got the green light in July 2019. The book has also been the basis for a BBC drama-documentary of the same name.
When And Where Does The Last Duel Take Place?
The Last Duelis set in 14th-century France, specifically the year 1386. By this point in time, trial by combat was no longer a common practice. That said, burning a woman at the stake for making “false” allegations of rape was an accepted norm so it’s not exactly an enlightened period in French history either.
What Is The Last Duel’s Plot?
Despite what the title might lead you to think, the actual duel inThe Last Duelis just the tip of the iceberg. The real story of the movie is an intricate plot of intrigue and politics, with a young woman’s life caught in the middle.
The plot kicks off when Marguerite de Carrouges claims that she has been raped by Jacques Le Gris. Unfortunately, due to the lack of witnesses or evidence, the case is dismissed and Marguerite is accused of perjury. And in those days, the crime for making a false allegation was to be burned to death. Her husband, Jean de Carrouges, takes the case to the King, requesting permission to settle the dispute through trial by combat.
If you’re aGame of Thronesfan or just generally into medieval history, you might have a good understanding of how trial by combat works. The two people involved (or their representatives) fight a duel to the death. The victor is accepted as having been chosen by God as the rightful party. It’s a classic example of “might makes right” morality. Or in other words, justice belongs to he who has the biggest stick. Perfectly reasonable legal proceedings, right?
Here’s the official synopsis forThe Last Duelfromthe movie’s website:
“The Last Duel is a gripping tale of betrayal and vengeance set against the brutality of 14th century France, directed by visionary filmmaker and four-time Academy Award nominee Ridley Scott.”
Considering everything revealed about the movie so far, it looks like this is going to be a major film that’s worth the watch. So mark your calendars and polish those swords you got at the renaissance fair. You don’t want to miss this.
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