FOR a Disney movie called The Princess, Joey King’s new film sure has a lot of R-rated violence, death and even the odd use of the word “bitch”.

But from the moment her tough-as-nails royal heroine stabs a hairpin into a henchman’s eyeball, it is clear that 20th Century Studios’ The Princess – out on streaming platforms on July 1 – is not your typical family-friendly fairy tale.

“I mean it would not be fun if it was not violent, you know!” King told AFP on the red carpet at the premiere in Hollywood yesterday.

“I was constantly telling our producer Toby (Jaffe). I was like ‘we need more blood on the dress!’”

Described as Rapunzel meets action-thriller The Raid, the live-action movie starts with King’s sleeping princess, clad in a wedding dress, awakening as a prisoner at the top of a dizzying tower.

A series of highly stylised, female-led fight scenes unfurl as she bids to escape from nemeses, including ex-Bond girl Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace).

The action is more reminiscent of Game of Thrones than Sleeping Beauty or Snow White.

“The idea of doing a princess movie with Disney that completely goes against anything they have ever done is just perfect,” said Ben Lustig, who co-wrote the film.

His original premise was “how can we take the trope of that princess stuck at the top of the tower, that everybody knows, and then flip it on its head?”

Lustig and Jake Thornton’s script was bought by 20th Century Studios, a Disney subsidiary, and the movie is released on Hulu in the United States and Disney+ internationally.

Among the producers is Derek Kolstad, who created the John Wick action films starring Keanu Reeves as a violent hitman.

“The joke at the beginning is ‘what if Princess Peach saved herself, did not need Mario and just beat the crap out of Bowser?’” said Kolstad.

“I do not think John (Wick) would cross her!”

The film takes the recent trend of feisty, fiercely independent Disney princesses a few steps further, but it “did not want to go too soap-boxy” with the emphasis on fun, he added.

‘Crazy idea’

The role is also a departure for King, 22, who is the star of Netflix’s smash teen movie series The Kissing Booth and will soon be seen opposite Brad Pitt in action-comedy Bullet Train.

“It is so exhausting. It is so hard on your body,” she said of the film’s many fight sequences.

“But there is something about it that is so fulfilling and rewarding – I absolutely fell in love with action.”

The movie is directed by Le-Van Kiet, a Vietnamese-born filmmaker whose martial arts thriller Furie became the highest-grossing film of all time in his birth country in 2019.

“One of the first things I wanted to do was have her do a Wushu kick,” he said.

“Crazy idea, but the studio went with it. And I am glad it did!”

As well as acquiring a new set of battle skills, King said the movie has fulfilled a dream of hers.

“I am not your typical Disney princess. I love that about this character.

“But also I love that I am technically still a Disney princess!” – AFP, June 17, 2022.