The Epic First Four Minutes Of The Last Duel Will Will Have You On The Edge Of Your Seat

Fans of period pieces, later middle age history, director Ridley Scott, and/or mega stars Jodie Comer ("Killing Eve"), Adam Driver ("Star Wars"), and Cambridge, MA-goes-to-Hollywood buds Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were no doubt thrilled when 20th Century Studios dropped its first trailer for "The Last Duel." Today, the team behind the anticipated historical narrative — which is based on actual events — gave those fans yet another reason to celebrate and salivate, when Movie Clips Coming Soon shared the first four minutes of the film on its YouTube channel. 

The film revolves around Comer's character, Marguerite de Carrouges, a woman believed by no one when she accuses her husband's best friend and squire, Jacques LeGris (Driver), of rape. Marguerite's husband, Jean de Carrouges (Damon), is then pitted against his squire in a fight to the death — one that will either restore his wife's honor, or result in both his own death and that of his wife, who'll be executed as a "false accuser." The film was adapted from writer and historian Eric Jager's "The Last Duel: A True Story of Trial by Combat in Medieval France" and is slated to hit theaters in just ten days. If the film's first four minutes are an accurate representation of what it has in store for viewers, "The Last Duel" promises to be chock full of the suspense, tension-filled action, and character depth for which Ridley Scott is well-known. 

This glimpse into the film's opening suggests and reveals a number of things, chief amongst them the idea that the narrative will open with the titular tournament/trial between Jean de Carrouges and Jacques LeGris while maintaining its focus on what's at stake for Marguerite. Alternating back and forth between powerful flashes of action, scenes of quiet and tense intimacy (Marguerite's servants helping her prepare, LeGris' and Carrouges' pre-duel routine) and epic zoom-outs and shifts in focus that illustrate the scale of the event and its context, the opening uses a town crier and joust host to explain why this Trial by Combat will be the last ever sanctioned by the Parliament of Paris. 

The gripping mash-up of the opening's birds eye view of winter in 14th century France with its consistent focus on the individual characters' warm-up to a battle that will determine the fate of each comes to a fierce cliffhanger of a conclusion. Although audiences witness the two men charging toward one another on horseback — and although we catch a brief glimpse of Driver's LeGris being jostled post-collision — the opening stops short of revealing which man will emerge victorious. 

Blending scenery, costumes and sets to rival the legendary depictions of The North from "Game of Thrones" with continual insights into the emotional composition of its three main characters, the opening of "The Last Duel" suggests Scott will once again be sending shivers down the spine of his audience — all while dazzling them with hypnotic visuals and unpredictable character arcs.