| All Hail the King | |
|---|---|
 Release poster | |
| Directed by | Drew Pearce |
| Screenplay by | Drew Pearce |
| Based on | Marvel Comics |
| Produced by | Kevin Feige |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Michael Bonvillain |
| Edited by | Dan Lebental |
| Music by | Brian Tyler |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 14 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
All Hail the King is a 2014 Americandirect-to-videoshort film featuring theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) characterTrevor Slattery, produced byMarvel Studios and distributed byWalt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. It is a follow-up andspin-off ofIron Man 3 (2013), and is the fifthMarvel One-Shot short film set in the MCU, sharing continuity withthe films of the franchise. The film is written and directed byDrew Pearce, and starsBen Kingsley as Slattery, alongsideScoot McNairy,Lester Speight, andSam Rockwell. InAll Hail the King, a documentary filmmaker (McNairy) interviews the infamous fake terrorist Trevor Slattery while in jail.
Development for a One-Shot centered on Kingsley as Slattery began during production ofIron Man 3, which introduces the character. Pearce, who co-wrote that film, conceived of an idea that was contingent on Kingsley being willing to reprise his role. The actor was enthused to do so after reading the script. Filming occurred in Los Angeles over three days, with Pearce later flying to Canada to film Rockwell's appearance asJustin Hammer, reprising his role fromIron Man 2 (2010).
All Hail the King was released digitally and on the home media release ofThor: The Dark World (2013) in February 2014 and was positively received. The story of Slattery, the Mandarin, and the Ten Rings is continued in the filmShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) and theDisney+ miniseriesWonder Man (2026).
Trevor Slattery, an inmate atSeagate Prison,[a] is living with his own personal "butler" Herman, and other inmates acting as his fan club and protection. Slattery is interviewed by documentary filmmakerJackson Norriss, who wishes to chronicle the events of theMandarin situation.[b] Norriss, trying to learn more about Slattery personally, recounts his past from his first casting as a child as well as his starring in the failedCBSpilotCaged Heat. Norriss eventually informs Slattery that his portrayal has angered some people, including the actualTen Rings terrorist group, which Slattery did not know existed. Norriss tells him the history of the Mandarin and the terrorist group, before revealing that he is actually a member of the group. He then pulls out a gun and kills the guards and Herman before telling Slattery the real reason for the interview is to break him out of prison so he can meet the actualleader of the Ten Rings. Hearing this, Slattery still has no idea of the full ramifications of his posing as the Mandarin.
Additionally,Matt Gerald portrays White Power Dave;[7]Crystal the Monkey portrays the bar monkey;[2] andAllen Maldonado portrays Fletcher Heggs,[8] who has a tattoo of a chess piece on his face as a nod to the comics, where he is a minor character going by "Knight".[3]
Drew Pearce, the co-screenwriter of theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) filmIron Man 3, and producer Stephen Broussard had the idea for theMarvel One-Shots shortAll Hail the King during the production ofIron Man 3, to provide "a fresh take" on theMandarin character.[9][10]Marvel Studios and consultantJoss Whedon were positive about the short, reliant onBen Kingsley's involvement.[3] Kingsley was on board after reading the script, with Pearce believing he wanted to return because he enjoyed portrayingTrevor Slattery.[11] In October 2013, Kingsley said he was working on a secret project with Marvel involving "many members of the crew that were involved inIron Man 3".[12] This was later revealed to be the short, written and directed by Pearce.[1]Iron Man 3 originally had Slattery dying in the film, so the One-Shot would have been aprequel exploring part of his past life. During the editing ofIron Man 3, when it was changed to have Slattery live, Pearce was less enthused about the short being a prequel since they "inevitably lack a sense of drama" and felt continuing Slattery's journey after the events of the film was "more exciting" since "you don't know what's going to happen".[10]
Iron Man 3 directorShane Black felt Marvel "saw so many negative things" surrounding the Mandarin's portrayal, that the short was created as "an apology to fans who were so angry".[13] Though some of the dialogue is written in response to critics ofIron Man 3's Mandarin portrayal, the story was written simply as an extension of theTen Rings and Mandarin storyline featured throughout theIron Man films. Pearce wrote the short to be ambiguous enough that the storyline could be further explored in future films or television series. On the Ten Rings, Pearce stated that he found the group to be a "very powerful" part of the MCU due to their introduction in the universe's first film, and noted that producerKevin Feige was excited to see a member of the organization be "genuinely vicious". Because of this, Pearce worked to make the action in the short "real and brutal" to juxtapose the more comedic tone leading up to it, which he felt would increase the humor of Kingsley's Slattery anyway given that the character "does not respond to anything the same way any other right minded human being" should.[3] Speaking about addingeaster eggs and nods to the comics, Pearce noted that him adding them to the script did not necessarily mean that they were a part of Marvel's bigger plan for the MCU, and said that he enjoyed "stuff[ing] it full of MCU" and waiting to see if "some of it sticks and some of it remains just a kind of charming nod".[3] The nameCaged Heat was previously used by Marvel as theworking title forIron Man 3.[14]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 All Hail the King Title presents the short film's main-on-end title sequence,YouTube video fromPerception's channel |
All Hail the King was filmed over three days inLos Angeles,[10][11] including at a "disused women's prison" in the east side of Los Angeles. Pearce believed the production was "unbelievably lucky" to align their shooting schedule with Kingsley's, who had been working on a number of different projects. Two production units were utilized in order to capture the footage for the main short and theCaged Heat material.[10] Both Marvel andSam Rockwell were "on board" for acameo appearance, but Rockwell was unable to do it due to working onPoltergeist (2015). However, during post-production of that film, Rockwell read the script for the short and called Pearce, saying that he was happy to participate if his scenes could be shot inToronto during one of his breaks. Pearce went to Canada, and filmed Rockwell on a set that was painted to match the Los Angeles shoot, saying "Rockwell came in and just nailed it".[15]
Music for the short was composed byBrian Tyler, with theCaged Heat scenes composed by 1980s TV-music iconMike Post.[2] The main-on-endtitle sequence, which was created byPerception, was inspired byDr. No,Charade, andIron Monkey, as well as otherkung fuexploitation films.[16]
All Hail the King was released on the digital download release ofThor: The Dark World on February 4, 2014, and on February 25 for the Blu-ray release.[17] It was included on the bonus-disc of the "Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Two Collection"box set, which includes all of thePhase Two films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well as the otherMarvel One-Shots. The collection features audio commentary by Pearce and Kingsley, and was released on December 8, 2015.[18]All Hail the King was made available onDisney+ on August 27, 2021, ahead of the release ofShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings which introduces the actualleader of the Ten Rings.[19]
IGN's Cliff Wheatley gaveAll Hail the King a 9.4 out of 10. He said that it's "a return to the loveable personality of the hapless Trevor and a step forward for the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe. It has its twists that should satisfy both lovers and haters of Trevor Slattery. But it's the approach that Pearce takes with the material, from the kung-fu movie style credit sequences to the light-hearted tone that takes a sudden and jarring turn. Kingsley once again shines in the role of Slattery, aloof and ignorant, but more than happy to slide back into Mandarin mode if it will please his adoring fans. Pearce does go for some of the same jokes fromIron Man 3 in a sort of referential way, but it's nothing too damaging."[20]
Devin Faraci ofBirth.Movies.Death called it "another excellent short film from the folks at Marvel Studios", which he felt deserved to be shown in theaters rather than just released on home media. He felt that the character of Slattery "was used the perfect amount inIron Man Three, and giving him more screen time here, in a side project, feels the right way to return to him. Kingsley is having a blast, delivering plenty of wonderful jokes and sinking right into the clueless, egocentric character who represents all of our worst stereotypes of actors." Faraci praised theCaged Heat sequence, as well as Rockwell's cameo, and positively stated on the Mandarin reveal, "rather than a retcon this feels like an expansion, a pulling back of the curtain to reveal more of the picture."[21] Conversely, Andrew Wheeler ofComicsAlliance criticized the short's presentation of homosexuality, given it was Marvel Studios' first attempt to bringLGBT concepts into the MCU.[6] Brennan Klein atScreen Rant called it "a purely comic short that plays like a sketch fromSaturday Night Live".[19]
The filmShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings explores plot elements from the One-Shot, such as the reveal of the actual leader of the Ten Rings, Wenwu,[22] with Kingsley reprising his role as Slattery in the film.[23]Shang-Chi directorDestin Daniel Cretton said they wanted "to be true to" the One-Shot in the film, adding that "including that storyline in this movie I think was not only just really fun, I think it's essential to hear [Slattery] admit how ridiculous that whole situation was".[22]
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