Over the course of ten days and 435 miles, an unbreakable bond is forged between pro adventure racer Michael Light (Mark Wahlberg) and a scrappy street dog companion dubbed Arthur in Lionsgate's Arthur the King.
Based on an incredible true story, the movie follows Light, desperate for one last chance to win, as he convinces a sponsor to back him and a team of athletes (Simu Liu, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Ali Suliman) for the Adventure Racing World Championship in the Dominican Republic. As the team is pushed to their outer limits of endurance in the race, Arthur redefines what victory, loyalty and friendship truly mean.
Directed by Simon Cellan Jones (The Family Plan) from a screenplay by Michael Brandt (Wanted), it's based on the book Arthur: The Dog Who Crossed the Jungle to Find a Home by Mikael Lindnord.
Last month, we got to briefly sit down with Jones and Lindnord to discuss their collaboration on this project, learning what it took to ensure this real-life story was told the right way, the importance of shining a light on a cause as important as the Arthur Foundation, and working with the movie's titular pooch, Ukai.
Check out the full interview, along with our recent conversation with Mark Wahlberg, in the players below.
Mikael, what was it like to work with Simon and Mark to make sure this movie told your and Arthur’s story the right way?
Mikael: First of all, both Simon and Mark are both passionate people. If they hadn’t been this passionate, I doubt we’d see this movie. So many things happened before the movie; we had injuries for Mark twice and the studio continued pushing. It was an extremely hard environment we shot the movie in. It was raining and it was pretty tough for everyone. Mark and Simon were great leaders and kept the production going. We also did this in the middle of the COVID pandemic with all the testing and everything, so it was a little bit of luck also that we’re here today.
Simon, you shot this movie in some challenging and extreme locations, so what was it like to set this story in places like that?
Simon: Well, it was mostly exciting! Sometimes it was an absolute nightmare, but you know, you have to do your best to make things feel truthfully bleak and dangerous and exciting. So, yeah, we had to take our cast and crew right into the jungle. Sometimes we went by boat to work for an hour and sometimes we went via helicopter or drove through muddy jungle trails. It was very rewarding. It’s a beautiful, amazing country, the Dominican Republic, and we all think of the beautiful beaches around the outside, but the minute you go into the country, you start to see a different side of it.
My sister lived in Thailand for a while and rescued a dog, so what does it mean to you to shine a light on the importance of this cause while telling such a gripping story?
Mikael: That’s the thing, this story is obviously about a love story between a man and dog, but it’s also a huge inspiration for other people out there. Maybe next time, you won’t go past that shelter or the dog you see on the corner. Maybe that’s your Arthur.
Simon: Yeah, I’m a dog person. I have dogs. I do think there is a strange bond between dogs and humans, and while that was the core of the film, this is also a story of self-discovery and I think Mikael’s experience, we hope, translated into the universal experience of being faced with choices in life, it’s how you make it that says a lot about you.
Finally, I know there’s that cliche of never working with children and animals, but how was it with Ukai?
Simon: It was brilliant! It took a while for him to get a rhythm - or perhaps for me, I don’t know - but once we got going, he was a star. I think he really enjoyed it which is really important.
Arthur the King arrives in theaters on March 22, 2024.