King’s empowering action flick ‘Princess’ modernizes fairy tales
This isn’t your typical fairy-tale princess.
Emmy-nominated actor Joey King loved putting a modern spin on the fantasy genre with her actionpacked movie “The Princess,” starring as a royal with secret fighting skills who doesn’t wait around for a prince to rescue her.
The movie, now on Hulu, opens with King’s character being held hostage in a feudal tower, and follows her escape mission as she brawls with hulking mercenaries.
“I love that we’re just immediately onboard with the princess being like, ‘Yeah, I don’t need a man. I know how to fight, and I’m just going to do it on my own,’ ” said King, 22.
“We have no questions about the fact that there’s no romance in this movie,” King said. “There’s no man coming to save her, and she’s just obviously capable.”
The medieval-set film introduces King’s unnamed hero as a young princess kidnapped by the henchmen of a power-hungry lord whom she refused to marry. To save her kingdom and free her family, the princess must navigate a heavily guarded castle and use her elite combat abilities to take down her enemies.
“It’s an empowerment story, but it’s also just so fun,” King said. “I watched this movie, and I just feel like I’m immersed in this other world.”
The Los Angeles-born King rose to fame starring with Selena Gomez in the 2010 family film “Ramona and Beezus,” which was adapted from a popular Beverly Cleary novel. She received an Emmy nomination in 2019 and a Golden Globe nomination in 2020 for the true-crime drama series “The Act.”
King was no stranger to action roles, starring with Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx in 2013’s “White House Down.” But the intense fight scenes in “The Princess” were unlike anything she’d done before.
“It was amazing,” King said. “I never thought that I could pull this off in the way that I did. I was so nervous when I started this, but I knew that I wanted to put in the work as much as I could to be able to do most everything that I could in this movie.
“People that supported me — my trainers in Bulgaria, my trainers in
LA — they believed in me so much. They pushed me so hard, and they told me I could do it. I was able to do 90% of what you see on-screen, and I’m so proud of that.”
Directed by Vietnameseborn filmmaker Le-Van Kiet, “The Princess” gave King an opportunity to portray a resilient warrior who’s underestimated by her opponents.
“She really proves everyone wrong,” King said.
“She knows what she’s made of, and has so much fun while doing it. No fight is the same. They’re all so clever and so different from the others. I can’t wait for people to see how much wonderful, hard work was put in by our stunt team and choreography.”
The film is one of several high-profile projects this year for King, who also has a leading role alongside Brad Pitt in the thriller “Bullet Train,” in theaters Aug. 5.
King served as an executive producer on “The Princess,” which she describes as a “full-throttle action film.”
“I’m just thrilled that this movie’s message is the message that it is,” King said, “but also that it’s digestible and fun for all.”