Comic-Con 2015: Kurt Sutter Teases 'The Bastard Executioner'

It was the end of an era at Comic-Con 2015, as for the first time in years, Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter wasn’t on hand himself to preview the latest bloodsport. That isn’t to say that Sutter didn’t attend in spirit, instead sending along an exclusive preview of September FX premiere The Bastard Executioner, and we were on hand for all the gory details.

Sutter appeared in the set video, first drawing attention to his clean-shaven face, noting that he’d had to undergo a makeup test for the full prosthetics of his character. Still, Sutter previewed that the “loyal and often terrifying support” of Sons of Anarchy fans helped him realize his next cinematic vision, heading to Wales for the early to mid-September premiering Bastard Executioner.

We’d be hard-pressed to describe everything from the footage (which itself will hopefully go online before long), though we met Lee Jones’ Wilkin Brattle as a deeply spiritual farmer who finds himself thrust into a life of violence. Amid looks at Katey Sagal’s Annora of the Alders, we also saw a bearded Stephen Moyer as Milus Corbett, spearheading a great deal of violence, while producer Brian Grazer spoke to the same theme of brotherhood that permeated Sons of Anarchy.

The video also noted The Bastard Executioner as “a contemporary view of a dangerous medieval world,” and “dark as pitch, as you would imagine from Kurt’s previous writing.” Brattle adopts a new identity as the titular executioner, a “punisher by trade,” as we saw him reluctantly swinging the sword as ordered.

The Bastard Executioner follows “a warrior knight in King Edward III’s charge who is broken by the ravages of war and vows to lay down his sword. But when that violence finds him again he is forced to pick up the bloodiest sword of all.” Lee Jones will play the title role, with will True Blood star Moyer acting as his right hand man Milus, and even native Welshman and The Americans lead Matthew Rhys appearing in a guest role.

Time will tell if FX’s The Bastard Executioner proves a worthy followup, but for now stay tuned for the footage, pore over the cast list, and decide if Sutter’s Sons followup will live up to the hype.