Next month we’ll get to see Guy Ritchie’s action/spy/comedy The Man from U.N.C.L.E. starring Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer, but he is already well underway on his next project, once again traveling to a different time. The Sherlock Holmes director is helming Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur, a new telling of the classic tale of a 6th century king who has been said to have defended Britain against Saxon invaders, and now we have our first official look at its leading man.

Debuting in Entertainment Weekly‘s full King Arthur spread, below you can check out our first official look (via images and EW cover) at Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy, Pacific Rim) as Guy Ritchie’s version of Arthur Pendragon.

As you can tell by the images, this isn’t the same kind of Arthur we’re used to. Hunnam looks killer in the role. I’m an avid follower of Hunnam beginning on SOA and continuing through Pacific Rim, I’m excited to see him get a role of this caliber (pun intended) and looking forward to seeing what he can do with it.

While talking about his take on the King, director Guy Ritchie gave his reasons why he believes there hasn’t been a memorable take or movie about the hero yet:

“I think where the pitfall has often been is trying to make King Arthur bland and nice, and nice and bland. The two qualities make rather compatible bed companions. Unfortunately, they’re not interesting to watch. Luke Skywalker was always the most uninteresting character in Star Wars because he’s the good guy. Good guys are boring.”

I do see where Ritchie is coming from, but I’d have to disagree with him when it comes to Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. Giving this King Arthur more then just the hero aspect is very valuable, it adds layers to the character (and character around him) that can continue through many stories. Along with Ritchie, the King himself, Charlie Hunnam, gave us some great details on the kind of Arthur we’ll be seeing:

“He’s a little bit rough around the edges, but he’s basically a survivor. He’s a hustler. He’s a street kid. There’s definitely a harder edge to him than people would imagine. It’s sort of classic Guy Ritchie stuff.”

From the sounds of it, this is a take on the character that we’ve yet to see. One that will not only dig deeper into the character and his surroundings, but dig even deeper into the fantasy elements of the legend, something that has only had the surface scratched thus far. Although I do enjoy a great Knight vs. Knight fight, It’ll be exciting to see Arthur and his allies take on some monstrous looking creatures.

Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur is the beginning of a planned six-movie franchise, as Warner Bros. is intending on creating a ‘Marvel style’ King Arthur universe, that is if it all goes well. I for one would love to see it happen and although I don’t need anymore shared universes, I love me some medieval shit.

Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur has a July 22nd, 2016 release date. Directed by Guy Ritchie starring Charlie Hunnam, Jude Law, Djimon Honsou, Astrid Gerbes-Frisbey, Katie McGrath, Annabelle Wallis, and Eric Bana.