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Angus Macfadyen as Robert the Bruce, in the historical drama Robert The Bruce. Photo courtesy of Screen Media.

Robert The Bruce is a historical drama that follows up on Braveheart, Mel Gibson’s epic about William Wallace, about the contender for the Scottish throne who finally won Scotland its independence and became its king. A legendary figure in Scottish history, Robert the Bruce was a great king, one known for his great heart and his devotion to his people.

This sequel of sorts to Braveheart stars Angus Macfadyen, who played Robert the Bruce in that film, and is being released video-on-demand on various platforms starting April 24. The film has no connection to Mel Gibson or his film beyond the subject matter, and Angus Macfadyen, but it would be natural to expect this historical follow-up to also be an epic, filled battles and the sweep of history, in the style of Gibson’s film,...

For the planned April 16 release of unofficial “Braveheart” follow-up “Robert the Bruce,” Screen Media had everything lined up perfectly. Angus Macfadyen, who plays the Scottish independence-crusader Robert I in both films, recorded a promo that would appear before a Fathom Events 25th anniversary screening of “Braveheart” in March, encouraging dedicated fans to head to one of 600 theaters for the Fathom screening of the new film. And it tapped the American-Scottish Foundation for a grassroots campaign to reach more of the film’s core constituency amid the 700th anniversary of Robert’s Declaration of Arbroath and the start of the Highland games season.

That finely tuned-day-and-date strategy all fell apart when the coronavirus pandemic led virtually all American theaters to close their doors. At first blush, the crisis could have spelled disaster for the film’s future, given the daunting prospect of trying to reassemble all of those pieces amid so much uncertainty.

Strange Angel has found its Aleister Crowley. Turn alum Angus Macfadyen has been tapped to play the founder of Thelema opposite Jack Reynor in the second season of the CBS All Access series.

Created by Mark Heyman and based on George Pendle’s book of the same name, Strange Angel explores the bizarre true story of Jack Parsons, a man who straddled the worlds of science and the occult, pioneering America’s rocketry program while simultaneously practicing sex magick rituals and living by the creed “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.”

At the conclusion of Season 1, Jack and his team from Caltech make a scientific breakthrough that secures the military’s interest as the country nears the brink of war. In season two, the U.S. is fully engaged in World War II, transforming Jack’s rocketry work into a lucrative business and further entrenching him in the military-industrial complex.