Firebrand: release date, cast, plot and everything we know

Jude Law is assuming a kingly role in Firebrand, a 2024 film that explores the life of Henry VIII, one of England’s most well-known kings, and his last wife Katherine Parr, who is portrayed by Alicia Vikander. In fact, the film made its premiere in the spring of 2023 at the Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the prestigious Palme d’Or award. The film will now be available for wider audiences to see as it has secured US distribution. In light of that, the following has all the information you require about Firebrand, including the remaining cast members and the movie’s release date.

Firebrand: release date

Firebrand has been given a June 21 release date in the US, in the heart of the summer blockbuster season.
It actually shares that date with The Bikeriders, meaning June 21 could be quite the atypical weekend for summer with a couple of more drama-heavy movies.

The Cast and Crew

Firebrand cast — Image credit: Radio Time

We’ve already mentioned the two main stars: Jude Law playing Henry VIII and Alicia Vikander as his final wife, Katherine Parr.

Law is a two-time Oscar-nominated actor (The Talented Mr. Ripley, Cold Mountain), whose most recent movies have included Peter Pan & Wendy, where he played Captain Hook, and the Fantastic Beast franchise, where he played the young Dumbledore. He’s also set to join the Star Wars universe as part of Skeleton Crew, an upcoming TV series.

Vikander is herself an Oscar winner for The Danish Girl, with some of her other well known roles including Ex Machina and as Lara Croft in Tomb Raider. Recently she has starred in the limited TV series Irma Vep, the Netflix original movie Beckett and the A24 movie The Green Knight.

Others in the Firebrand cast include Eddie Marsan (Fair Play), Sam Riley (The Vault), Simon Russell Beale (Thor: Love and Thunder) and Erin Doherty (The Crown).

The plot

Firebrand plot — Image credit: Radio Times

The film is based on Elizabeth Fremantle’s novel Queen’s Gambit (not to be confused with The Queen’s Gambit), which Henrietta and Jessica Ashworth adapted for the big screen. The official synopsis is as follows:

“In blood-soaked Tudor England, Katherine Parr, the sixth and last wife of King Henry VIII, is named Regent while tyrant Henry is fighting overseas. Katherine has done everything she can to push for a new future based on her radical Protestant beliefs. When an increasingly ailing and paranoid King returns, he turns his fury on the radicals, charging Katherine’s childhood friend with treason and burns her at the stake. Horrified and grieving, but forced to deny it, Katherine finds herself fighting for her own survival. Conspiracy reverberates through the palace. Everyone holds their breath – for the queen to slip up, for Henry to take her head like wives before. With the hope for a future free of tyranny at risk, will Katherine submit to the inevitable for the sake of King and country?”
by collider

Firebrand director

Karim Aïnouz is the director of Firebrand. This is his English-language debut as a director, as most of his other movies — Mariner of the Mountains, Invisible Life and more — were in Portuguese.