In this film released in 2023, Guillaume Canet finds his faithful friend Gilles Lellouche to camp two of the most popular French characters in comics.
Netflix continues to spoil Asterix fans! After Mission Cleopatra and the animation series The fight of chefs last month, the platform adds this time to its Astérix and Obelix catalog: the Empire in the middle, the film by Guillaume Canet.
Released in 2023 on our screens, he takes us in 50 BC the Empress of China is imprisoned following a fomented coup by Deng Tsin Quin, a felon prince. Helped by Graindemaïs, the Phoenician merchant, and by his faithful warrior Tat Han, Princess Fu Yi, an only daughter of the Empress, fled in Gaul to ask for help from the two valiant warriors Asterix and Obelix, endowed with superhuman force thanks to their magic potion.
Our two inseparable Gauls of course agree to help the princess to save her mother and release her country. And here they are all on the way for a great adventure towards China. But Caesar and his powerful army, still thirsty for conquests, also took the direction of the Middle Empire …
The French, always so fans of Asterix!
Despite disastrous criticism – a score of 1.7 out of 5 on Allociné – the Middle Empire can boast of being the most seen in theaters two years ago since it attracted nearly 4.5 million spectators.
In this adaptation in real shots of the famous comic book by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo, Guillaume Canet slips into the suit of the mustachiou Gauls, while he entrusted the role of obelix to his best friend, Gilles Lellouche. The director surrounded himself with his most loyal acolytes, from Marion Cotillard to Vincent Cassel via Jonathan Cohen.
The Empire in the middle is also a pure product of its time since it also reveals internet personalities or athletes, like the ex-footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the swimmer Florent Manaudou, as well as the Youtubers McFly and Carlito.
A suite in preparation?
The popular success of this feature film shows how the French are attached to these popular heroes. And even if we are far from the Mission Cleopatra (15 million admissions) or Asterix and Obelix success against César (9 million admissions), this gave ideas to producers.
In April 2024, Studiocanal (and no longer Pathé) announced the upcoming production of a sixth film Asterix. But no news since. We still do not know everything about this new feature film since no director's name or actors has yet been revealed. Will Guillaume Canet and Gilles Lellouche take over the roles-titles of this film? Nothing is less certain.
In the meantime, you can see or review Asterix and Obélix: the Middle Empire on Netflix.
