The phrase “No kings.” carries different weight in 2026 America than it did during England’s 1381 Peasants’ Revolt, yet it remains a powerful declaration across both eras. Paul Greengrass connects these moments in The Uprising, tracking one of British history’s defining radical episodes. Andrew Garfield stars as John Ploughman, a farmer central to the resistance against King Richard II’s tyranny—set against the Black Death’s aftermath, the ruinous Poll Tax, and the raging Hundred Years’ War.
In the film, Ploughman speaks the line aloud: “No kings.”
Garfield on the Line’s Unexpected Resonance
Speaking with Mashable Senior Editor Shannon Connellan at London’s historic Charterhouse—a medieval monastery built before the revolt, near St Johns Priory and Smithfield where key uprising events unfolded—Garfield revealed the line’s complicated journey to screen.
“It was a line that Paul thought he should cut because he had written it before all of the ‘No Kings’ protests that were happening in the United States against Trump,” said Garfield. “He was worried that it would feel like we are trying to say something specific in response to something that’s just happening. But in fact, it predated any of that stuff happening in real time.”
Greengrass ultimately kept the line. Garfield explained why:
“It felt the right thing just to go, no, this is something universal. This is something that is unfortunately timeless. And it’s a beautiful sentiment. The idea of hierarchy that is preordained being deconstructed feels very important.”
The sentiment echoes in a separate pull quote attributed to the actor:
“This is something universal. This is something that is unfortunately timeless.”
— Andrew Garfielf
Behind the Scenes: Choreography and Craft
The interview, filmed at the Charterhouse, covers Garfield’s collaboration with co-stars Cosmo Jarvis and Jamie Bell, the intricate choreography required for Greengrass’s signature handheld, documentary-style action sequences, and the visceral experience of wielding farm tools against steel and armor.
Release Dates
The Uprising opens in U.S. theaters on Sept. 10; a U.K. release follows on Oct. 9.
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