Barney Cokeliss has teamed up with Creative Assembley / SEGA on The Throne, the announcement film for the long-awaited return of Total War: Medieval.
Nineteen years after the last Medieval chapter, The Throne landed to an ecstatic response from fans, clocking up half a million views in its first weekend and generating over 6,000 YouTube comments, many expressing pure disbelief and joy at the reveal.
Written and directed by Cokeliss, the film strips away spectacle in favour of raw intensity. Five medieval monarchs compete for a single throne, addressing the audience directly with steely conviction and quiet menace. The result is a bold, character-driven piece that places human presence front and centre.
“Working directly with a client can be liberating – and it really helps when they work in a creative field themselves,” says Cokeliss. “Dom Read and Davie Andrew at Creative Assembly knew exactly what they wanted to say, but trusted me to come up with how.”
Cokeliss’ pitch deliberately rejected CGI-heavy fantasy in favour of restraint and focus.
“My pitch was five medieval monarchs, one throne, zero CGI spectacle. Just raw, direct-to-camera intensity from rulers who’ve clawed their way to power. Human faces are the most captivating things we can look at, so it didn’t feel like a compromise to limit the film to one location and hone in on that.”
Subtle in-camera effects were used to heighten the atmosphere, giving the sense that the monarchs are speaking to us across centuries.
“I wanted to add a bit of mystery — to mess with the image, basically — in a way that adds to the intrigue and the feeling of history pressing in.”
The production was led by Producer Nicholas Unsworth, who assembled an A-list creative team across cinematography, art, costume, editorial, music, sound and colour.
“Nicholas and his team were legendary in getting this made despite cost limitations,” adds Cokeliss. “Everyone was drawn to the project because it was creatively exciting — and that ultimately comes from an inspiring brief and the freedom to really run with it.”
The Throne marks a powerful and confident announcement for one of gaming’s most beloved franchises — and a striking piece of storytelling rooted in performance, presence and power.
