New ‘The Man Who Killed Don Quixote’ Images Are Here, And So Are More Problems

It’s hard to believe that Terry Gilliam‘s long-awaited, long-delayed The Man Who Killed Don Quixote is almost here. Or maybe it’s not? Some new Man Who Killed Don Quixote images have arrived, and with them comes even more trouble for the film. Trouble that might get it pulled from its Cannes premiere.

At this point, it feels like the plot of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote can never live up to the story of the behind-the-scenes story of the film. Terry Gilliam has been struggling to get this movie made since 1998, and he’s had nothing but trouble. There was even a documentary in 2002 called Lost in La Mancha that chronicled Gilliam’s failed attempts to get the movie made.

The original film starred Johnny Depp and Jean Rochefort. Illness, location problems and legal woes sidetracked the film until Gilliam pulled the plug completely. Gilliam restarted production again in 2008, replacing Depp and Rochefort with Unbroken star Jack O’Connell and John Hurt, but this version of the film soon fell apart as well. Eventually, Gilliam tried yet again, this time casting Adam Driver and Michael Palin, later replacing Palin with Jonathan Pryce.

And now here we are! The film is finished! And it’s supposed to play Cannes…but once again, there’s a catch. According to Deadline, a new legal challenge has arrived that could delay the film. Again. This problem is related to something we previously reported on: In 2016, Gilliam reached an agreement with producer Paulo Branco that gave Gilliam creative freedom over the project in exchange for the rights to the film. However, Branco apparently never provided the necessary funding, and Gilliam went out and found another producer. With a new deal in place, Gilliam finally was able to finish production. However, Branco says that since he technically owns the rights to the film, Gilliam can’t release it until he grants permission. Gilliam has countered that the contract with Branco is null and void since Branco never put up the money.

As Deadline reports, “Both sides had lodged complaints. Last May a French court ruled in favor of Branco, but said he could not stop the film from shooting. Then earlier this month, an appeals court heard from the parties with the final decision to be delivered on June 15.” When Man Who Killed Don Quixote ended up being added to the Cannes Film Festival at the last minute, it seemed as if the legal problems were resolved. But that’s not true, and now Branco and his Alframa productions have “obtained permission to seek a writ to stop the Cannes Film Festival from screening it.”

So who the hell even knows what will happen now. As of this writing, Don Quixote is still set to play at Cannes, and sooner or later, the whole world will have a chance to see it. Maybe! In the meantime, we can all satisfy our Don Quixote cravings with these new Man Who Killed Don Quixote images (via ComingSoon).

The story involves “a deluded old man (Pryce) who is convinced he is Don Quixote, and who mistakes Toby (Driver), an advertising executive, for his trusty squire, Sancho Panza. The pair embark on a bizarre journey, jumping back and forth in time between the 21st and magical 17th century.”

These images give us glimpses of not just Driver and Pryce, but also Stellan Skarsgård, Joana Ribeiro and Olga Kurylenko. The images are also quite visually stunning, which contrasts with the surprisingly flat, colorless trailer that found its way online a few weeks ago. Perhaps that trailer had failed to be color corrected yet? The gallery of images can be seen below.