Young Washington

Jon Erwin directs this historical action-drama that traces George Washington's early years as a soldier caught in a global war. William Franklyn-Miller stars as the young Washington, with Ben Kingsley playing Virginia Governor Robert Dinwiddie and Mary-Louise Parker as his mother Mary. Produced by Angel Studios and shot on a $20 million budget, the film blends war, adventure, and coming-of-age drama. It adapts Peter Stark's book Young Washington and arrives in theaters July 2, 2026.

The story follows Washington from his restless youth on a Virginia plantation through his first military commands during the French and Indian War. The cast includes Andy Serkis as General Edward Braddock, Kelsey Grammer as Lord Fairfax, and Leo Hanna as frontiersman Christopher Gist. The score comes from the Kiner family, with Kevin Kiner known for his work on Star Wars animated series.[edit]

Set in the mid-18th century, the film opens with a young George Washington living on his family's Virginia plantation, overshadowed by his older half-brother Lawrence and chafing under his mother Mary's watchful eye. Determined to escape the confines of home and prove his worth, Washington seeks a commission in the British colonial militia. His ambition catches the attention of Virginia Governor Robert Dinwiddie, a calculating politician who sees the young surveyor as a useful tool.

Dinwiddie sends Washington on a dangerous diplomatic mission: deliver an ultimatum to French forces encroaching on British-claimed territory in the Ohio Valley. Accompanied by the experienced frontiersman Christopher Gist, Washington endures a grueling journey through wilderness that tests his endurance and introduces him to the brutal realities of frontier diplomacy. The mission ends in failure, but Washington's report gains him a captain's commission.

The central conflict escalates when Washington, acting on questionable intelligence, leads a pre-dawn attack on a French encampment at Jumonville Glen. The skirmish ignites a full-scale war and earns Washington a reputation as both a courageous leader and a controversial figure. He is thrust into command of a small, ill-equipped Virginia regiment and must navigate the treacherous politics of the colonial military, clashing with the rigid British command structure embodied by General Edward Braddock.

Washington's relationship with Lord Fairfax, a powerful landowner and mentor, complicates his loyalties. A romantic subplot with Sally Cary offers glimpses of the man behind the burgeoning legend. The narrative builds toward the Braddock Expedition, where Washington must confront the limits of traditional European warfare against the guerrilla tactics of the French and their Native American allies. The story stops short of revealing the expedition's outcome.[edit]