The Lost King, starring Sally Hawkins, has released a new trailer ahead of its United States release. Based on the non-fiction bookThe King’s Grave: The Search for Richard IIIby Philippa Langley and Michael Jones, the filmstars Oscar nominees Sally Hawkinsand Steve Coogan. The film was directed by another Oscar nominee, Stephen Frears, and written by a combination of Coogan and Jeff Pope.
“I watched the documentaryThe King in the Carparkand I was fascinated. And although it’s about the search for Richard, I was fascinated by Philippa – she seemed troubled, as it were, in the documentary and that piqued my interest.”
Coogan said in an interview withRadioTimes. Later, he added this:
“I mean, the remarkable discovery I knew about, but I wanted to know the sort of story behind the headlines. And I remember Leciester University doing this big announcement and thinking at the time, ‘Hang on what about the woman in the documentary? Where’s she?'”
In her Academy Award-nominatedperformance forThe Shape of Water, Hawkins played a woman named Elisa Esposito, who ends up falling in love with the Amphibian Man (Doug Jones), someone who many people in society would consider a monster. InThe Lost King, Hawkins plays Langley, who becomes enthralled with Richard III, who’s been most famously depicted as a monster, albeit one the audience loves to hate.
The trailer opens with Langley watching a production of Shakespeare’sRichard III, the part where Richard famously offers his whole kingdom for a horse and is clearly unimpressed. “I just don’t believe someone would be that wicked because of a disability. It doesn’t ring true to me.” With her chronic fatigue, Langley knows a thing or two about having a disability.
Related:TIFF 2022 Review: The Lost King is a Touching Story Where Past Meets Present
More About What You Can Gleam From the Trailer
Langley starts researching the late king, joining a Richard III society, and eventually decides she wants to visit his grave. Upon learning that the king’s remains have been lost, Langley decides to find them. Though the project rejuvenates Langley, who’s undervalued at her job, her husband John (Coogan) tells her that she’s “starting to sound slightly mad.”
The trailer depicts Langely’s friends saying she hadn’t responded to their calls and texts because of her research. John also says that Langely hasn’t been to work for two weeks. And Langely keeps seeing an apparition of Richard III (Harry Lloyd), who himself tells her, “this is starting to look a bit like an unhealthy obsession.”
However, all judgment might be best reserved until after you’ve seen the film, especially because Langely finds Richard’s remains. Spoiler alert, if anything based on real-life could be called spoilers, but the remains were buried under a parking lot, which the trailer starts to depict.
The Lost Kingwill be available in US theaters on Mar. 24, with distribution rights for North America being performed by IFC Films. Previously, it was released in the United Kingdom on Aug 11, 2025, and in Australia on Jul 26, 2025. The film is also available on some streaming sites, but only on those outside the US.
