A 2021 historical epic, starring Killing Eve’s Jodie Comer, is set to arrive on Hulu next month. Based on a popular novel, the film recounts a brutal accusation through three conflicting perspectives, culminating in a deadly duel between two former friends.
The Last Duel to stream on Hulu this May
Hulu is adding the acclaimed period drama The Last Duel to its platform on Friday, May 1, 2026.
The film is based on Eric Jager’s 2004 novel The Last Duel: A True Story of Crime, Scandal, and Trial by Combat in Medieval France. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Ridley Scott co-produced and helmed the film with a screenplay by Nicole Holofcener, Ben Affleck, and Matt Damon.
Set in 14th-century France, the story follows knight Jean de Carrouges, who accuses his rival and former friend, squire Jacques Le Gris, of raping his wife Marguerite. When nobody believes Marguerite’s claim, Jean challenges Jacques to a duel to the death, which he accepts.
The Last Duel stars Jodie Comer as Marguerite, Damon as Sir Jean de Carrouges, Adam Driver as Jacques le Gris, Harriet Walter as Nicole de Buchard, and Affleck as Count Pierre d’Alençon. As per Variety, Affleck was set to play Jacques. But after he opted to play a supporting role, Driver was cast.
20th Century Studios handled the film’s distribution and premiered it at the 78th Venice International Film Festival on September 10. It later debuted in theaters in the United States on October 15, 2021.
The Last Duel received widespread acclaim, with praise for the cast’s authentic performance and for Scott’s brilliant direction, especially for how he handled the three-perspective structure. The film currently holds an 85% Tomatometer score and an 81% Popcornmeter score on Rotten Tomatoes. Meanwhile, on Metacritic, it has a weighted average critic score of 67 with a user score of 7.3.
Despite the overall favorable reception, the film was a box office failure. With a massive $100 million budget (via Variety), it managed to earn approximately $30.5 million worldwide. Given the film’s release during the COVID-19 pandemic, it reportedly couldn’t attract viewers to theaters. However, when The Last Duel became available to stream on Apple TV+, it ranked #2 in early January 2022.
