King (2026 film)

King is an upcoming Indian Hindi-language action thriller film co-written and directed by Siddharth Anand. The film is produced by Gauri Khan, Anand, and Mamta Anand under Red Chillies Entertainment and Marflix Pictures. It stars Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone Suhana Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Anil Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Rani Mukerji, Jaideep Ahlawat, Arshad Warsi and Raghav Juyal.

Principal photography began in May 2025, taking place in Mumbai, Warsaw, Gdańsk and Cape Town.

King is scheduled for a theatrical release on 24 December 2026.

Development

Following the commercial success of Pathaan (2023), reports emerged that Shah Rukh Khan would collaborate with director Sujoy Ghosh on an action thriller film. The project, reportedly produced by Siddharth Anand and Gauri Khan, was also said to feature Suhana Khan in her feature film debut. Initially titled King, the film was scheduled to begin production in November 2023. The title had previously been acquired by Sajid Nadiadwala for a planned project starring Hrithik Roshan and directed by Kabir Khan, which was later shelved; Nadiadwala subsequently transferred the rights to Red Chillies Entertainment.

Filming was originally planned to take place between November 2024 and March 2025, allowing Khan to prioritize other commitments, including Tiger vs Pathaan; however, these plans were not realized. The schedule was later revised to January 2025, but this too was postponed. In August 2024, Khan confirmed the project at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland. In December 2024, Anand replaced Ghosh as director for undisclosed reasons. The film is reportedly inspired by the 1994 French film Léon: The Professional.

Casting

Khan and his daughter Suhana were officially confirmed as part of the film in February 2024, marking Suhana’s theatrical debut following her appearance in The Archies (2023). While early reports suggested that Khan would appear in an extended cameo, it was later clarified that he plays a full-fledged lead role. He is reportedly cast as a sleek, highly skilled assassin, with Suhana portraying his protégé—an apprentice navigating the dangerous world under his guidance. In July 2024, Abhishek Bachchan joined the project as the film’s primary antagonist. Abhay Verma was cast in a pivotal role in August 2024.

Deepika Padukone was confirmed in April 2025 after initially declining due to personal commitments. During that period, the role had been offered to several leading actresses, including Kareena Kapoor Khan, Sonam Bajwa, Katrina Kaif, and Preity Zinta. However, following scheduling adjustments and at Khan’s request, Padukone ultimately joined the film. In the same month, Arshad Warsi joined the cast. In May 2025, Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff joined the cast. Rani Mukerji was also confirmed to play Suhana’s mother in the same month.

In June 2025, Jaideep Ahlawat, Raghav Juyal, and Saurabh Shukla were confirmed to be part of the film. Later, in September 2025, Akshay Oberoi and Karanvir Malhotra joined the cast.

Filming

Principal photography was initially scheduled to begin in early 2025, but was delayed after Anand reworked the script. Filming commenced in May 2025 at Mehboob Studios in Mumbai. In June 2025, an action sequence set in a jail environment was shot at the same location with approximately 200 stunt performers, for which large-scale prison sets were constructed. During production, Juyal sustained a leg injury while performing stunt sequences. In July 2025, Khan also suffered a muscular injury while filming action scenes at the Golden Tobacco Factory in Vile Parle, Mumbai, and subsequently travelled to the United States for medical treatment, resulting in a brief delay in the schedule.

The second schedule began in September 2025 in Warsaw, Poland. Warsi confirmed his participation by sharing a photograph from Warsaw’s Old Town on social media, to which Anand responded with the comment “Welcome to the Kingdom”. Filming resumed in December 2025 after a six-week break for Khan’s recovery. A large-scale action sequence featuring Khan and Bachchan, reportedly mounted on a budget of ₹50 crore, was subsequently filmed in Gdańsk, Poland. In March 2026, an eight-night long Vijayadashami action sequence involving Khan and Suhana was filmed at Ellora Studios, Mumbai. In April 2026, a desert sequence featuring Kapoor and Suhana was scheduled to be filmed in Dubai; however, it was cancelled due to the ongoing crisis in the Middle East. The sequence was subsequently shifted to Mumbai for filming. In May 2026, filming relocated to Cape Town, South Africa, where a song sequence featuring Shah Rukh Khan and Padukone was filmed. In August 2026, the film entered into it's final phase of shooting.

Music

The soundtrack features an original score by Anirudh Ravichander, with songs composed by Anirudh and Sachin–Jigar, replacing Siddharth Anand's norm collaborators Vishal–Shekhar.

It was reported that British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran had contributed to a track for the film. The speculation began from Shah Rukh Khan's appearance in the music video "Sapphire" by Sheeran and his related social media activity.

Marketing

In early October 2025, during ongoing shooting for the film, Anand posted a cryptic message on X. The post, which did not explicitly reference the film, prompted speculation among fans that it signalled a countdown to the release of the film’s first look. Around the same time, he also shared behind-the-scenes content on Instagram, including an image of the crew taken during an early morning shoot.

The title reveal and first-look poster of the film were unveiled on 2 November 2025, coinciding with Khan’s 60th birthday. The poster showcased Khan in a distinctive salt-and-pepper look. Prior to the official announcement, Anand teased the film’s release date on X through a series of cryptic tweets. The film was eventually confirmed to be releasing on 24 December 2026 via an announcement video.

Theatrical

King is scheduled for a theatrical release on 24 December 2026, coinciding with Christmas Eve. Apart from the original Hindi language it will also release in dubbed versions in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, and English.