Look, I like a good sword and sandals movie, but it’s got to be really good, like, The Odyssey or Lawrence of Arabia. On its own, that genre — which refers to biblical epics, mythology movies, and historical dramas taking place around the Mediterranean and Middle East in Greco-Roman times — doesn’t do a whole lot for me. But if you’re an indiscriminate lover of these kinds of movies, there’s a new one coming to Hulu on September 1 that you might want to check out.

Set in Arabia in the seventh century, Desert Warrior is the story of Princess Hind (Aiysha Hart), who refuses to become a concubine of Emperor Kisra (Ben Kingsley). She flees her home, with the emperor’s army in pursuit, and allies herself with a bandit named Hanzala (Anthony Mackie). The two then unite several rival tribes to stand up against the emperor, leading to a historic battle in the desert known as “The Battle of Ze Qar.”

Desert Warrior features a mix of real Arabian history and folklore and was meant to be a vehicle to invigorate the Saudi Arabian film industry. The Saudi government funded the movie, which began with a $70 million budget before ballooning to more than double that. Rupert Wyatt ( Rise of the Planet of the Apes ) directed the film, a process that took five years. The movie first opened in 2025 internationally before premiering in America in April. All told, it grossed less than $1 million around the world, making it a candidate for the biggest box office flop in history.

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