Hulu’sThe Princess,starring actressJoey King, puts a new spin on the classic fairytale, which has dominated narratives for quite a while. While many are used to the damsel in distress trope in princess movies, Hulu’s latest project gives us a refreshingly fresh, strong-willed new princess who is not afraid to stand up for herself. When she refuses to passively accept a marriage she is pushed into, King’s princess is kidnapped and locked away in a tower. But this princess doesn’t believe in waiting for a knight in shining armor to rescue her. Taking her fate into her own hands, this princess fights tooth and nail to do what she believes is right for her.
The movie is being directed by Le-Van Kiet, with the script written by Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton. King is executive producing the film alongside Guy Riedel and Lustig and Thornton. 20th Century Studios debuted the official trailer forThe Princesson July 28, 2025. The trailer gives more substance to the movie description, “action-packed fight to the death set in a fairy tale world,” showcasing King in all her fighter princess glory. Blatantly believing in her own power and establishing themessage of girl-powerfirmly within the movie, the trailer ofThe Princessvividly emphasizes why Joey King’s princess isn’t to be messed with.
This Princess Isn’t Afraid to Say No
The trailer opens with the classical shot of the fairytale castle as a voice intones “once upon a time in a magical castle…”, givingThe Princessboth the look and feel of a traditional fairytale romance just waiting to take place. However, a mere ten seconds into the trailer, audiences are made aware that the princess has been locked away in a tower. When the events leading to the imprisonment are shown, viewers get their first inkling that maybeThe Princessisn’t going to be a traditional princess story.
King’s princess definitely isn’t afraid to say no. While in a stereotypical fairytale, the princess would go through with decisions imposed on her out of obligation,King’s princess breaks outof the mold. “I’m not a piece of property to be traded,” she says, in defiance of her father’s order of marriage. In saying this, King’s princess firmly sets the film within feminist discourse. In standing up for herself, even amidst the consequences that follow her decision, King’s character establishes herself as a princess who definitely shouldn’t be messed with. She is not a pushover, and despite her love for her family, which becomes obvious in her mission to save her family from the sociopathic tyrant she was supposed to marry, she will remain true to herself.
No Weapons? No Problem
Being locked away in a tower, with her hands chained, will not stop King’s princess from making sure her captors know that they ”f***ed with the wrong princess.” Resourceful as ever, she uses the same chains that bound her to whack one of her captors across his face. Cartoon blood splatters across the screen, showing that the princess has done some real damage.
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Seemingly thrown into her prison in her wedding dress, the dress becomes the princesses’ armory of weapons. Strips of lace and cloth are re-purposed to pull, push and swing her captors into walls and pillars. One is even sent flying out of one of the tower windows! The lack of weapons clearly isn’t an issue for this princess. Once her mind is set on her release, she’ll do whatever she must, including ripping her wedding dress into shreds. Blood, gore, and messy hair are inconsequential.
Daredevil Blood
As per the trailer, Hulu’s newest princess evidently has daredevil blood pumping through her veins. Nothing appears to deter the princess from accomplishing her aim of saving her family and the kingdom. Be it multiple sword and shield-wielding men coming at her or incredibly tall towers preventing her escape. This princess conquers them all. Through a few perfectly placed acrobatic kicks, including a spectacular roundhouse kick, the issue of the sword-wielding men are dealt with. Tall tower preventing escape? Not a problem! Just hang onto a length of cloth and run across.
Theprincess is also not afraidto throw herself down multiple stories to eliminate her adversaries. Giving it little to no thought, backed by a mighty scream, the trailer shows the princess ramming into one of her opponents and throwing both herself and him down multiple levels of the castle. Playing with fire, launching herself through open windows, and getting bloodied and dirty all appear to be second nature to this princess. Clearly more comfortable with a sword than with a tiara, King’s character, time and time again, establishes why exactly she shouldn’t be messed with.
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The soundtrack of Joan Jett’s ‘Bad Reputation,’' coupled with Joey King’s butt-kicking behavior in the trailer, gives the film an action-packed but fun feel. Talking toByrdieabout the demanding training she had to undergo in order to execute the stunts in the movie, King said, “When I finish this movie, I’ll feel like I can do anything.” She further expressed her excitement at the opportunity of playing the princesses’ character, saying:
“I’ve been in this business 18 years, and I’ve been dying to play a character like this.”
Given how overused the damsel-in-distress trope has been in recent times, Hulu’s fresh take on the princess storyline will no doubt be a welcome deviation for viewers. Giving off #GirlBoss vibes,The Princesswill surely be recognized by many for questioning conventional gender norms and what it means to be ‘ladylike.’
