The Kid Who Would Be King

A long time ago, Britain was ruled by King Uther, but when he died without an heir, the land was torn apart by war. The wizard Merlin conjured a sword called Excalibur in a stone and declared that only the true heir could pull it free. After lots of people tried and failed, a boy named Arthur succeeded without knowing he was Uther's lost son. Arthur grew into a great king and ruled at a round table so that all were equal while living under the chivalric code. Their greatest foe was Arthur's half-sister Morgana, who claimed to be the rightful heir and turned to dark sorcery. Arthur fought a fierce battle against her and bound her into the bowels of Earth. That day Morgana swore dark vengeance: one day when the land is lost and leaderless again, she will return. Now in the current day, society is slowly coming apart because of constant wars, poverty, and corruption in the system. In a small town, twelve-year-old Alex lives with his mom Mary, who tries her best to raise her kid alone. One morning on his way to school, Alex gets a text from his best friend asking him for help. Alex rushes to the playground and finds Lance and Kaye bothering his friend Bedders for his money, so he immediately comes to his defense. Lance pushes him to the ground and reminds him he's the king around here before leaving, but Alex goes after him and begins beating him up. Moments later, Alex is scolded by Principal Lee, who asks for details about the incident, but Alex doesn't tell her anything. After class, Bedders is very thankful to Alex for saving his life and tries to swear his loyalty to him, trying to cheer him up with a magic trick that is supposed to duplicate a coin. However he places the coins incorrectly and fails. When Alex returns home, Mary tries to understand what's happening to her son, but Alex gets angry because she doesn't get that if he tells anyone the truth, he would only make matters worse. The next day during detention, Lance threatens Alex by writing a message on his hands so the teachers won't notice. After class, Alex tries to run away, but Lance and Kaye chase after him and corner him at a construction site. This causes Alex to accidentally step off an edge and lose consciousness when he hits the ground. Thinking he may be severely hurt, Lance and Kaye run away to avoid trouble. Moments later, Alex wakes up to find a sword stuck in a stone with mystical air around it. Alex grabs it and is surprised when he easily takes it out, feeling blessed by a special light. In the underworld, Morgana wakes up when she senses the sword is free. Desperate for revenge, she sends up her roots to look for the new wielder of the sword. Afterward, Alex invites Bedders to his house so they can look at the sword together. There's a phrase in Latin written on the handle, and by translating it using the internet, they discover this supposedly is King Arthur's legendary Excalibur. This reminds Alex of a book his father had given him with a heartfelt note calling his son "the future king". The book talks about the Arthurian legend and an island called Tintagel where the legend supposedly truly happened. The boys don't think the sword is magic for real and just for fun, Alex knights Bedders. The next morning, a bright light appears on Stonehenge and a young Merlin comes out of it. Since he has no clothes, he enters a shop and uses his magic to convince the clerk to gift him a t-shirt. Then he makes his way to town, but when the police see him, they stop him for dressing inappropriately in public. Once again, Merlin uses his magic and forces the cops to drive him to town. When they make it to their destination, Merlin deletes the cops' memories and transforms into an owl to fly away. Moments later, Merlin shows up at Alex's school pretending to be a new student named Mertin, but he doesn't know modern speech and everyone thinks he's ridiculous. He won't stop looking at Alex during classes, and Bedders thinks they should befriend him, but Alex doesn't want to because they'll get even more bad attention. When a teacher tells them about an eclipse that will happen in four days, Merlin begins panicking because he thought he had four years and storms out of the classroom. During lunchtime, Merlin bursts into the cafeteria and makes a scene, telling Alex that he was chosen by Excalibur to destroy Morgana when she rises again during the eclipse. Alex thinks he's just a weirdo, and when Merlin asks all the students to help the new king, the kids answer by throwing food at him. Merlin has no choice but to escape by transforming into an owl, which only a few students notice. In the middle of the night, the sword begins glowing in the closet. A weird noise wakes Alex up and when he looks out the window, he sees one of Morgana's demons coming out of the ground. The monster breaks into the house and a scared Alex goes to ask his mom for help, but he's shocked to discover Mary isn't around. He decides to grab the sword to defend himself, but the demon quickly disarms him, so Alex has to dodge a series of furious strikes. Suddenly the demon implodes out of nothing, and Alex discovers Merlin is on the floor, weak because he used magic to kill the creature. Apparently, Merlin can't be in the human domain after twilight and he tells Alex to find him the next day at a fried chicken shop before transforming into an owl and flying away. Meanwhile the remains of the demon return to the underworld to tell Morgana about Alex and Merlin, to which Morgana responds by sending a whole army of devils to the surface. The next morning, Mary is shocked to find Alex sleeping with a sword in his hands. Alex tries to tell her the story, but obviously she doesn't believe him, and when Alex takes out the book, he demands to know why his dad left if it wasn't because of an evil force. Mary admits his dad had been fighting some demons, but that doesn't mean Alex should go around branding a freaking sword. When she tries to take it away, Alex points it at her to keep her at bay before running away. After class, Alex and Bedders go to the chicken shop and are surprised to discover Merlin is working there. While taking the boys to the apartment above the shop, Merlin explains he needs to consume a potion made of beetle blood, beaver pee, and ground bones to regain his strength, and this shop's fried chicken has all three. He also explains that he looks young because he ages backward, and that last night Alex didn't see his mom because during the penumbra between light and dark, the demons appear and time freezes, meaning the only ones that can stay around are the wielder of the sword and those knighted by him. During the incoming eclipse, Morgana will return thanks to the world having fallen into confusion and chaos, so it's their duty to stop her. Alex doesn't think he can be a hero because he's just a kid, thus Merlin transforms into his older self and shows the boys an illusion of how the world would become hell on Earth if they don't go to the underworld and defeat Morgana in her own realm before she comes back. Seeing themselves as Morgana's slaves scares Alex and Bedders into accepting the quest, but Merlin leaves before he can answer more questions. Afterward, Alex and Bedders return to the construction site to look for clues and discover the inscription on the stone that talks about the future king. Alex remembers the note left by his father was the same, so he assumes he comes from a powerful family like Luke Skywalker, meaning they have to travel all the way to Tintagel to find his dad and ask him where the entrance to the underworld is. The boys are suddenly interrupted by Lance and Kaye, who make fun of the sword because they think it's a nerd prop. Alex quickly puts the sword back in the stone to protect it, then he dares the jerks to take it out. If they can't, Alex wins and they'll allow him to knight them. Lance and Kaye don't take him seriously and try to take the sword, to no avail. Alex obviously has no trouble retrieving the sword, and Lance and Kaye let him knight them just to see where this is going. Then Lance pushes Alex to steal the sword, but at that moment, Morgana's demons show up. The others hide while Lance tries to use the sword, yet the demon disarms him in seconds. Alex retrieves the sword and hits the demon before it kills Lance, then the kids begin running away. The demons chase after them, so the kids try throwing some flammable liquid tanks they find in the building, but it only makes the demons' fire stronger. Next they go to the streets for help, but they're empty just like Merlin promised and they decide to steal a car to escape. When Alex opens the car door, he accidentally hits the demon with it and discovers the impact is enough to defeat it because it's just a skeleton. Once everyone is in the car, Kaye takes over the wheel and begins driving like a maniac, managing to trick a demon into crashing against a bus stop, and defeating the last one by running over it with the car itself. Afterward, Lance demands an explanation, so the group goes to Alex's home and he tells them what's going on. To prove this must be destiny, he points out the kids have similar names to the knights of legend and even the table they're sitting at is round. The trio ends up accepting to go with Alex to Tintagel, unaware that Morgan is watching them through her plants and learning all their weaknesses. The next day, Mary discovers Alex left without talking to her, he only left a silly note. Meanwhile the four kids take the bus to Tintagel, which is stopped by the sudden appearance of Merlin. After the wizard charms the driver, he congratulates everyone for their plan, only to discover how rude and mean Lance is. Realizing none of the kids know the chivalric code, Merlin makes the bus stop and takes the kids to the middle of the countryside to have proper training. Only someone with a pure heart can slay Morgana, so they must follow the code's rules: honor those you love, refrain from wanton offense, speak the truth at all times, and persevere in any enterprise until the end. Afterward, Merlin takes the kids to Stonehenge, where a guide is telling tourists about the different theories behind the meaning of this ancient construction. Merlin cuts in saying Stonehenge is a transport hub he built himself, then he opens a portal that takes the group to Bodmin Moor, which is only twenty miles away from Tintagel and they're going to walk them as part of the training. When they finally stop to rest, Merlin takes Excalibur and uses a spell to make three copies to arm everyone. Next he enchants some trees to be the boys' training dummies before leaving to find some food. The kids aren't very good at first, but the trees are gentle opponents and use their branches to guide the kids through the training so they can learn properly. Morgana sees this opportunity and sends her magic through the roots in the ground to manipulate the trees into getting more violent. Alex and Bedders suddenly get captured by the branches, and when Lance notices, Morgana whispers manipulating words in his mind to convince him to take Excalibur. Lance does exactly that and dares the trees to come after him, only for him and Kaye to get captured by the branches as well. Alex yells Merlin's name, and the wizard immediately comes back to get rid of all the trees with magic, which leaves him very weak. Promising to return at sunrise, he transforms into an owl and leaves to regain strength in private. Alex scolds Lance for what he did, yet Lance isn't ashamed because he thinks he deserves the sword more, so he and Kaye leave on their own. Tired of feeling useless, Bedders goes after them, but Lance simply pushes him into a swamp. Alex comes forward and calls Lance a coward that puts up an act because he's scared he'll be nothing in life, which causes Lance to attack him. After exchanging a few blows, the boys fall into the swamp and discover Lance has broken Excalibur, so he leaves feeling ashamed. Kaye goes with him, pointing out they are just kids that can't save the world. Refusing to give up, Alex remembers the myth of the Lady of the Lake from the book and he tries summoning her. After a few seconds of nothing, the Lady's hand suddenly comes out of the water holding a fixed Excalibur. Lance lets Alex take it, and then the group swears to stick together and be loyal to each other. After many hours of walking, the group encounters a group of horse riders that accepts to help them get to the city. When night falls, the riders disappear, but at least the kids get to keep the horses. Suddenly Excalibur begins glowing and the demons show up to chase after them, thus the kids enter the forest to slow them down. When Bedders is captured by one of the demons, Alex quickly rescues him with a blow from Excalibur, then leaves the sword out to distract the knights with its glow. Afterward they reach a cliff, and the kids hide on the edge to trick the demons into jumping into the water for a quick victory. Moments later, they finally make it to Tintagel, and Alex goes to his dad's house alone to confront him. There he meets his aunt Sophie, who has bad news for Alex. His dad left ages ago and when Mary said he had been battling some demons, she meant his alcoholism. He never was a responsible man and never cared about his family either, in fact the note in the Arthurian book was written by Mary, who lied to her son so he wouldn't be sad for not having a good father. Devastated by this information, Alex returns to the group with no hope in himself. He throws the book into the sea and claims to hate his mother for her lies. Bedders immediately comes to cheer him up by showing him he's learned how to duplicate coins after seeing Merlin using his magic because he spent the whole night practicing. This proves your heritage doesn't matter, it's about the effort you put into it. Lance and Kaye also show their support, and Merlin suddenly returns with the book in hand, explaining myths don't always get things right: Excalibur doesn't care about his blood, only about his heart. Then Merlin leaves as an owl, and the sudden wind opens the book on a picture of Morgana's castle, which is still around today: that's where the entrance of the underworld must be. Next, the group goes to the slots, where Bedders uses his new trick to multiply a bunch of coins that the kids use to buy armor. Then they ride the horses through Stonehenge to reach Morgana's castle, where Excalibur reveals a hidden set of stairs and a tunnel covered in roots. The groups walk down that tunnel as they fight the roots with their swords, but the plants are too many and they capture the knights, so Alex must continue alone. At the end of the tunnel, Alex almost falls into a pit of lava and sees his knights trapped in the roots. At that moment Morgana shows up and transforms into a winged beast that breathes fire. After dodging a few flames, Alex pretends to give the sword to Morgana, but when she comes closer, he stabs her right in the chest, bringing her down. With Morgana seemingly defeated, the cave starts crumbling down, so the kids immediately run away. Thinking they've already won, Alex looks for the closest body of water and summons the Lady of the Lake to give her the sword before they return to their hometown by bus. Alex sneaks into his bedroom through the window, refusing to see his mother yet. The next day, Alex wakes up to find his house covered with Morgana's plants, which means she's still alive. Merlin comes to see Alex to go over the details of what went wrong, and Alex realizes he didn't completely respect the chivalric because he didn't honor those he loves. Alex goes to see Mary and apologizes for not being more understanding of her efforts, now he knows she was just protecting him. After they reconcile, Alex shares his story, and to prove it, he fills the bathtub with water to summon the Lady of the Lake, who returns the sword. Mary lets Alex use the house to gather his team and make a plan, deciding they need an army and a fort. Afterward, the group goes to the school while wearing their armor, and Merlin uses his magic on Lee to make her gather all the students outside. The group tries to convince everyone they need them to fight Morgana, and Merlin transforms into a bird to prove the story. Everyone is impressed yet they still don't want to fight, so Lee announces that people who join the fight won't have to go to class and the kids immediately jump on the opportunity. Bedders uses his magic trick to multiply the armor and the sword, Alex knights everyone, and Lance and Kaye put them through a quick training lesson. When the teachers arrive to start their classes, Merlin simply enchants them as well. They also use all the tools they can find in the school to fortify the school into a proper fort. Hours later, the sky finally darkens with the eclipse and the demons attack the school. Using the teachers' cars, the students run over the first wave of enemies, but they also crash against each other. The next wave of demons enters the school, where Bedders guides a group to make the demons trip with some rope before attacking with their swords. At the gym, Alex's team hits the demons with exercise equipment before joining the fight as well. Everyone fights with all their might, but the demons just keep coming, so Alex tells everyone to retreat to the roof and barricade. Meanwhile Morgana meets with Merlin and violently forces him to take his old form to kill him, but he's saved by the arrival of the kids. Then Morgana transforms into the winged beast, so Alex begins running with the glowing sword to get her attention. Bedders uses the distraction to toss a rope at Morgana's tail and together with the other kids they begin pulling her down. Next Lance and Kaye jump on her neck with more rope to trap her for good, but when Merlin comes closer as an owl, Morgana breathes fire on him and makes him fall. Merlin thinks his life is over, but Alex is ready with a potion made from liquidized fried chicken which quickly heals Merlin. With regained strength, Merlin immediately opens a vortex to trap Morgana, and Alex jumps on her to stab her, this time killing her for good. As the sun raises, the kids celebrate their victory. Sometime later, Merlin says goodbye to the kids, but before leaving, he gives Alex a new version of the book with his own story and reminds everyone kids can also change the world. Alex and his friends agree to work hard to be positive qualities in his dim society of theirs, then Alex throws Excalibur back at the Lady of the Lake to guard it until it's needed again.