Damsel is coming to Netflix with Stranger Things and Enola Holmes star Millie Bobby Brown playing Princess Elodie, a courageous woman who must rely on her wits in order to survive.
This epic fantasy tale, which also stars Angela Bassett, Ray Winstone, Robin Wright and Nick Robinson, turns the notion of traditional fairy tales on its head, Millie stars as a dutiful damsel who is about to marry a handsome prince but then she discovers that his family have a very different future planned for her. For Elodie has been recruited as a sacrifice to repay an ancient debt and when she’s thrown into a cage with a fire-breathing dragon, she must use every ounce of her intelligence and strength to stay alive.
“What I really loved was embracing the idea of a fantasy adventure and a princess and dragon story but taking it into a place where it’s completely upside down,” filmmaker Juan Carlos Fresnadillo told Netflix’s website Tudum. “At the core, this is such a beautiful story about a young woman becoming a strong, independent, and empowered adult. Elodie doesn’t have any kind of support. It’s a real survival experience.”
Here’s everything you need to know about Damsel on Netflix…
Damsel release date
The movie Damsel will stream worldwide on Netflix from Friday March 8, 2024.
Is there a trailer for Damsel?
Yes there are a couple of trailers for Damsel. We see Princess Elodie declaring, “I am no longer content to wait in my ivory tower. My scars are not a weakness, they are my battle wounds,” which shows she’s ready to do anything to stay alive. Plus we see Elodie fighting for her life. Take a look at the trailer below and other clip here...
Damsel plot
Imagine finally finding your Prince Charming, only to discover he’s secretly planning to sacrifice you to a dragon! Millie Bobby Brown stars in this dark fantasy film as Elodie, the titular damsel who is heading for distress when she agrees to marry Prince Henry (Nick Robinson). On their wedding day, however, the royal family toss Elodie into a cave as part of an ancient ritual to repay a debt. Can she escape the cave’s resident fire-breathing dragon? Robin Wright stars as evil Queen Isabelle, while Ray Winstone and Angela Bassett play Elodie’s father and stepmother, Lord and Lady Bayford.
Damsel ending explained: does Elodie survive the fire-breathing dragon?
Damsel cast — Millie Bobby Brown on playing Princess Elodie
Millie Bobby Brown plays the brave Princess Elodie who must take on a dragon.
“She’s a damsel who doesn’t need to be saved,” Brown explains. “She saves herself in many ways. It subverts what you expect: You’re expecting the prince to turn around and save her, and… no. Don’t wait for the prince.”
The on-set cave system helped Millie experience Elodie's journey. “It was hard running through [the caves],” Brown said. “It was hard falling in them. It was hard to scream, because nobody could hear you. You couldn’t see anything. Everything felt so real. So I loved the caves as an actor, but hated them as Elodie.”
Director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo says: “We were so lucky to have Millie. “She’s a very charismatic, sparkling personality. She has that quality that only stars have, which is you cannot take your eyes off her. She has the ability in this movie, in such a magical way, to bring the audience into her journey and take them into that kind of dark, intense, and thrilling adventure that she’s having. She’s the heart of the movie.”
* Millie Bobby Brown is best known for her role as Eleven in the hit Netflix series Stranger Things and has also starred in Enola Holmes (playing the title character), Godzilla vs. Kong, Intruders and Grey’s Anatomy.
Who else is starring in Damsel?
Robin Wright plays Queen Isabelle, who intends to sacrifice her son’s bride, while Nick Robinson and Milo Twomey are Prince Henry and King Roderick. Angela Bassett and Ray Winstone are Lord and Lady Bassett, Elodie’s stepmother.
Behind the scenes and more on Damsel
Damsel is directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and written by Dan Mazeau. The producers are Joe Roth, Jeff Kirschenbaum, Chris Castaldi, and the co-producer is Emily Wolfe. Executive producers are Sue Baden-Powel, Zack Roth, Millie Bobby Brown, Robert Brown, Dan Mazeau and Mark Bomback.
“What I really loved in the script from Dan Mazeau was embracing the idea of a fantasy adventure and a princess and dragon story, but taking it into a place [where] it’s completely upside down,” explains director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. “It was a very intense journey that I was so excited to design and to develop. At the core, this is such a beautiful story about a young woman becoming a strong, independent, and empowered adult. Elodie doesn’t have any kind of support. It’s a real survival experience.”
