The King's Daughter (upcoming film)

The King's Daughter, (previously titled The Moon and the Sun), is an upcoming American action-adventure fantasy film directed by Sean McNamara with a screenplay Ronald Bass, Barry Berman, Laura Harrington, and James Schamus. It is based on the historical/science fiction novel The Moon and the Sun (1997) by Vonda N. McIntyre. The film stars Pierce Brosnan as King Louis XIV, Kaya Scodelario as Marie-Josèphe, and Benjamin Walker as Yves De La Croix.

Principal photography began in early April 2014 in Versailles, France. Production then began on April 23 in Melbourne, Australia after a two weeks shoot in France. The shooting for the film wrapped-up in the end of May 2014. Open Road Films will release the film.

Synopsis
King Louis XIV's (Brosnan) quest for immortality leads him to capture and steal a mermaid's life force, a move that is further complicated by his illegitimate daughter's discovery of the creature.

Cast

 * Pierce Brosnan as King Louis XIV
 * Kaya Scodelario as Marie-Josèphe
 * Benjamin Walker as Yves De La Croix
 * William Hurt as Père La Chaise
 * Rachel Griffiths as Abbess
 * Fan Bingbing as the Mermaid
 * Ben Lloyd-Hughes as Jean-Michel Lintillac
 * Paul Ireland as Benoit
 * Pablo Schreiber as Dr. Labarthe
 * Crystal Clarke as Magali

Production
The film version of The Moon and the Sun was produced by Bliss Media and Lightstream Pictures in partnership with Kylin Pictures. Pang Hong (Painted Skin: The Resurrection), Wei Han of Bliss Media, and Paul Currie are also producers. The movie stars Pierce Brosnan as King Louis XIV, Chinese movie star Fan Bingbing as the mermaid, Kaya Scodelario as Marie-Joséphe, and William Hurt as Pere de Chaise (a character created for the movie). Filming was set to take place in Melbourne, Australia in April 2014, with two weeks of filming also planned in Versailles, France. Barry Berman, James Schamus, Laura Harrington, and Ron Bass wrote the screenplay. Sean McNamara (Soul Surfer) directed the film. The $40 million budget was co-financed by U.S. and Chinese sources. The film's rights were previously acquired by Universal's Focus Features, while international sales would be handled by Good Universe. On August 15, 2014, it was announced that Paramount Pictures acquired the US distribution rights to the film.

Filming
The principal photography on The Moon and the Sun began in early April 2014 on location at the Palace of Versailles in Versailles, France. After the two weeks shoot in France, the production moved to Australia to shoot at Docklands Studios Melbourne and on location in Melbourne, Victoria and its surroundings. Filming commenced on April 23 in Melbourne, Docklands, and its surroundings. From May 6–8, filming took place at the Melbourne City Marina on the Enterprize ship for the recreation of a ship in a stormy Northern Sea at night in the year 1648. On May 2, 2014, the production filmed on location in Old Quad at The University of Melbourne with the set transformed into a Versailles abbey. The filming wrapped-up at the end of May 2014 in Australia.

Release
On August 15, 2014, Paramount announced the release date for the film on April 10, 2015. Paramount cancelled the release date just three weeks before the film was set for a wide release and set for an unspecified future release date. The film was later retitled to The King's Daughter, and negotiations are ongoing with a new U.S. distributor.