‘Seven Kings Must Die’ Marks a “Bittersweet” Farewell For ‘The Last Kingdom’s Tight-Knit Cast and Crew

When Seven Kings Must Die premiered on Netflix last Friday, it marked the end of an era for the cast and crew of The Last Kingdom. Not only did Seven Kings Must Die seemingly wrap up the saga of one Uhtred of Bebbanburg (Alexander Dreymon), but it closed a major personal chapter for the cast and crew.

“I spent a decade [on this] from beginning to end,” Nigel Marchant, executive producer of both The Last Kingdom and Seven Kings Must Die, told Decider a few weeks ago before a fan screening of the film at the Paris Theater in New York City. “Obviously we’ve seen people in relationships, get married, have children. So we’ve grown up with those actors and also the crew over in Budapest. We shot for a decade in Hungary as Carnival.”

“So it felt, yeah, very bittersweet.” 

Fans, press, and the cast and crew of Seven Kings Must Die converged at the Paris Theater to watch the premiere of The Last Kingdom film and toast the team behind it. The vibe was decidedly “bittersweet,” as Marchant described it. Seven Kings Must Die star and EP Alexander Dreymon got misty-eyed telling Decider how much co-stars Arnas Fedaravicius and Mark Rowley meant to him before the screening and teared up once again while introducing the film. During the post-film Q&A moderated by Variety‘s Joel Otterson, Dreymon explained that the most important life lesson he’ll take from playing “Uhtred son of Uhtred” is how vital it is to foster a positive work experience on sets.

“I think the most important thing I’ve learned is that it’s possible to build this work environment that just fosters respect and love, and the ability to be light in dark moments and push through on hard shoot days,” Dreymon said. “I hope we can all take that with us into our next jobs and play whatever part we can play to create that on whatever set we are.”

“We adore [Alexander Dreymon]. I’m not just saying that, you know,” Marchant said. “Again, it goes back to you’ve been with these people for a long part of their lives and seeing people grow up on camera. Which is lovely and obviously, you work that close to people, they become your friends. So we adore him.”

According to Marchant and his Seven Kings Must Die co-stars, however, Dreymon has already nailed that part of being a leader on set.

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“We couldn’t have asked for a better lead actor, a better grown up on the show. You know, he leads from the front and sets the standard for everyone else working on it. He’s incredibly well prepared. He does his homework, takes everything he does very seriously. You know, he wants his stunts to look as brilliant, perfect as they can, works very hard and all of those things. Yeah, no. He’s a joy. And I’m not just saying that.”

During the Q&A, Mark Rowley said, “Like Alex knew everyone’s name on set, which is absolutely amazing and you really have been a leader for everyone. So, it’s always great to turn up on set and having fun with your friends and learning simultaneously. I don’t think there’s many jobs out there that you can do that and I think this was definitely one of the best jobs so far.”

“And I’m not just saying that because my boss is here,” Rowley joked.

Harry Gilby, who played King Aethelstan in Seven Kings Must Die, said, “Pretty much all of my close London friends are from The Last Kingdom. Like, it’s honestly changed my life. It’s like all of them. Yeah, I see them every week. Like, yeah, I saw you last week. We all help each other with auditions.”

Someone in the audience of the Q&A said, “Aww,” and Gilby sarcastically said, “So, no, that’s cute.”

Over the course of making The Last Kingdom and Seven Kings Must Die, Marchant and his team were responsible for casting a rotating roster of actors in the show’s epic ensemble cast. Besides the fact that the cast bonded like family, the franchise also spotlighted established and emerging talent. Before he became Tom Wambsgans on Succession, Matthew Macfadyen played the pivotal role of Uhtred’s father Uhtred in the bloody premiere episode of The Last Kingdom. Another HBO hit, House of the Dragon, snatched up Last Kingdom alums Ewan Mitchell and Phia Saban to play two Targaryen heirs, Aemond and Heleana.

Marchant told Decider that he’s loved seeing talent grow behind and in front of the camera on this franchise.

“It’s been lovely working in Hungary for this time and the local crew there that you’ve seen people start as camera trainees and move up to camera operators and lighting even,” Marchant said. “Part of our job as producers is to keep that momentum to be able to spot talent, to build on it. For people to learn their skill set on the show an enable them to go on and do bigger and better things.”

“But yeah, no, there’s nothing more satisfying to know that you’ve done a good job but when someone else, someone else think so. And you love it. You love catching up with all of them and seeing what they’re doing. You know, even going back to Dave Dawson or someone of the earlier days of the show. It’s lovely to see their success.”

But The Last Kingdom family isn’t just cheering on each other’s professional successes. As the Seven Kings Must Die Q&A wrapped, Rowley cheekily called out another of Gilby’s talents.

“Harry makes a really good apple pie,” Rowley said. “Honestly, when we were in lockdown, he was making apple crumble all the time.”

“It was COVID, man. What are you talking about?” Gilby said. “No one was there. I made it for myself.”

“You made it for your family,” Rowley said.

Whether Rowley meant Gilby’s literal family or Last Kingdom family, we’ll never know. But we do know that the cast still sees each other and texts each other all the time. Destiny is all, but friendship’s a close second place.