The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan (2023) – Cast, Plot, Sequel

D’Artagnan rolls into Paris from Gascony in director Martin Bourboulon’s two-part epic, and within one chaotic morning he’s already duelled three of the king’s finest — before he even finds breakfast. This 2023 French production brings Alexandre Dumas’s swashbuckler into sharp focus with a cast that reads like a who’s-who of contemporary French cinema.

Release Year: 2023 · Part I Title: The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan · Lead Actor: François Civil as D’Artagnan · Part II Title: Milady · Director: Martin Bourboulon

Is The Three Musketeers d’Artagnan the first movie?

This 2023 production from Pathé and director Martin Bourboulon is the first part of a two-film saga covering Dumas’s 1844 novel — split deliberately to accommodate the story’s sprawling timeline (Wikipedia). The second installment, titled Milady, arrived in December 2023, completing the narrative in two roughly two-hour segments rather than compressing everything into one film.

Release details

Part I opened in French theatres on April 5, 2023, with an international rollout following later that year (Wikipedia). The runtime sits at 2 hours 1 minute, giving Bourboulon ample room to establish D’Artagnan’s Gascon origins before the Paris chaos begins (Apple TV). In the United States, the film carries the slightly longer title The Three Musketeers – Part I: D’Artagnan.

Previous adaptations

Dumas’s novel has spawned dozens of adaptations over the decades — from silent films to the 1973 Richard Lester version with Michael York. This Bourboulon entry stands apart by committing to the two-part format and assembling a genuinely star-heavy French cast.

Will there be a part 2 of The Three Musketeers?

Part 2 not only exists — it already premiered. The Three Musketeers: Milady hit theatres on December 13, 2023, closing out the saga begun six months earlier (Wikipedia). No official word has emerged about a third instalment covering events from Twenty Years After or The Vicomte de Bragelonne.

Part II Milady details

Milady picks up where Part I ends, with the musketeers racing to England to rescue Constance Bonacieux (The Legionnaire). Porthos is wounded early and stays behind, Aramis ultimately leaves to become a Jesuit, and the story culminates in a barn-burning confrontation between D’Artagnan and Milady before Athos and Aramis arrive to tip the scales. The film ends with Athos discovering Milady’s earring — a hook that could support further stories but has not been confirmed as a setup for anything.

Release status

Both films have completed their theatrical runs and are working through international distribution channels. The two-film structure is complete, though whether more chapters follow depends entirely on studio decisions yet to be announced.

What are the four names of The Three Musketeers?

The four central figures are D’Artagnan, Athos, Aramis, and Porthos — and the 2023 film puts François Civil front and centre as the Gascon newcomer who earns his place among the legendary trio (Wikipedia).

D’Artagnan role

François Civil inhabits the eager young swordsman whose defining trait is refusing to back down regardless of the odds — he duels three different musketeers in a single morning before realizing they’re the same man he keeps accidentally offending (Spectrum Culture). Rotten Tomatoes critics found him charming but occasionally too earnest compared to the weathered veterans around him.

Athos, Aramis, Porthos

Vincent Cassel brings his signature intensity to Athos, earning particular praise as the brooding musketeer whose past with Milady haunts him throughout both films (Rotten Tomatoes). Romain Duris plays Aramis with a dry wit that contrasts nicely with the more physical approach of Pio Marmaï’s Porthos. The casting strikes an effective balance — these feel like old friends who’ve weathered campaigns together, not strangers meeting for the first time.

Who are The Three Musketeers in order?

The narrative introduces the musketeers one by one, each encounter beginning as a duel before D’Artagnan recognizes his mistake — a key sequence borrowed directly from Dumas’s novel (Wikipedia).

Introduction order

The film’s sequence follows the book’s tradition: Athos first, then Porthos, then Aramis — each time D’Artagnan takes an insult personally before discovering he’s challenged the same corps three times in one morning. Bourboulon’s screenplay keeps this running gag intact because it works, marking D’Artagnan as reckless before revealing his courage.

Cast in 2023 film

Vincent Cassel as Athos leads the trio, with Romain Duris as Aramis and Pio Marmaï as Porthos rounding out the group (Wikipedia). Eva Green co-stars as Milady de Winter, while Louis Garrel plays King Louis XIII and Vicky Krieps portrays Anne of Austria. Éric Ruf appears as Cardinal Richelieu, the film’s primary antagonist manipulating events from behind the throne.

Is The Man in the Iron Mask a sequel to The Three Musketeers?

Technically, yes — Alexandre Dumas wrote The Vicomte de Bragelonne, which directly continues The Three Musketeers story and includes the Man in the Iron Mask plot involving King Louis XIV’s mysterious prisoner (The Legionnaire). The 1998 film starring Leonardo DiCaprio draws from that same novel sequence, making it a distant sequel to any faithful Three Musketeers adaptation.

Dumas connections

The French author’s D’Artagnan Romances span three novels: The Three Musketeers (1844), Twenty Years After (1845), and The Vicomte de Bragelonne (1847–1850). The Iron Mask element belongs to the third book, which means any film covering that plotline is working from later source material. Bourboulon’s two-part adaptation stays entirely within the first novel’s events, leaving the longer saga unexplored.

Adaptation history

Most Three Musketeers adaptations — including the celebrated 1973 Lester films — focus on the first novel. The 1998 French production La Fille de d’Artagnan tackled a sequel plot, though it borrowed more from tradition than from Dumas directly. The current Bourboulon films represent the most ambitious French-language adaptation in decades, with the scope and budget to match.

Full cast and key crew

Ten actors hold primary credited roles across both films, supported by a production team anchored by screenwriting duo Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière, with cinematography by Nicolas Bolduc and music by Guillaume Roussel (Fandango) (TV Guide).

The ensemble brings together established French cinema names, with Vincent Cassel’s weathered Athos anchoring the veteran musketeer trio against François Civil’s idealistic newcomer.

Part I plot summary

The film opens with D’Artagnan from Gascony arriving in Paris, intending to join the king’s musketeers (Wikipedia). Before he reaches the garrison, he stumbles into stopping a kidnapping — nearly dying in the process — and earns his first brush with the musketeers’ world. Within hours, he has insulted Athos, Porthos, and Aramis in quick succession, setting up the novel’s famous triple duel.

The central plot pulls D’Artagnan into a conspiracy orchestrated by Cardinal Richelieu and his agent Milady de Winter, who seek to expose Queen Anne of Austria’s secret correspondence with the Duke of Buckingham (FictionMachine). D’Artagnan becomes entangled through his growing attachment to Constance Bonacieux, the Queen’s lady-in-waiting and the film’s emotional centre. The musketeers ultimately foil an assassination attempt at a royal wedding and prevent the conspiracy from succeeding.

Part I concludes with D’Artagnan ambushed while protecting Constance, left in a vulnerable position that sets up Part II directly (d’Artagnan Romances Wiki). A mid-credits scene shows Milady reporting to Cardinal Richelieu — a scene that reframes everything the audience just watched from the antagonist’s perspective.

Part II Milady plot summary

Milady opens with immediate consequences from Part I’s cliffhanger: the musketeers must travel to England to rescue Constance before it’s too late (The Legionnaire). Porthos is wounded during the mission and cannot continue, leaving the three remaining musketeers in a weakened state against Milady’s counter-moves.

The film expands the political scope considerably, involving the siege of La Rochelle and the betrayal of Count de Chalais, which drives further wedges between characters. Milady operates with increasing autonomy from Cardinal Richelieu, pursuing her own agenda of revenge against those who wronged her — particularly Athos. The burning barn confrontation between D’Artagnan and Milady serves as the film’s action centrepiece, resolved only when Aramis and Athos arrive to even the odds.

The finale sees Aramis leaving to become a Jesuit, departing the musketeer brotherhood permanently in this telling, while Athos discovers Milady’s earring — a memento that promises unfinished business (The Legionnaire). D’Artagnan’s promotion to lieutenant, earned across both films, marks his full integration into the world Dumas first populated centuries ago.

Critical reception and comparison to the novel

Rotten Tomatoes aggregator scores reflect generally positive reception, with particular praise for the action choreography and the veteran cast members (Rotten Tomatoes). Vincent Cassel’s Athos consistently earns the strongest notices — his weary cynicism balances Civil’s idealistic D’Artagnan throughout. The criticism directed at Civil reads less as dismissal than as recognition that D’Artagnan is meant to grow across the two films, starting somewhat blank to absorb the world’s complexity.

Spectrum Culture’s review notes that director Bourboulon treats the conspiracy plot as almost secondary to character dynamics — the double-crosses matter, but audiences connect through the personalities wielding the swords (Spectrum Culture). This approach preserves the novel’s inciting incident of the three morning duels while adding modern action sensibility to the set-pieces.

Director Martin Bourboulon knows the details of the plot are almost incidental. Yes, the story involves a labyrinth of double-crosses and betrayals, and yet the personalities of the characters – along with the clashing of swords – are what draw in an audience.

— Spectrum Culture review

François Civil is likable as the young romantic musketeer hopeful D’Artagnan. He’s charming, if a bit dull. Vincent Cassel is excellent as the brooding Athos.

— Rotten Tomatoes critic

Confirmed and unclear elements

Production timeline

Five key dates anchor the saga’s development and release, tracing the project from announcement through completion (Wikipedia).

The production moved from announcement to completion in under three years — a brisk pace for a two-film historical epic with this level of ensemble cast and action choreography. For viewers, this means the finished product feels cohesive rather than rushed, with consistent creative vision across both installments.

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The film’s strong ensemble, led by François Civil as D’Artagnan, gets thorough scrutiny in this Italian cast breakdown, spotlighting Vincent Cassel and Eva Green alongside plot nuances.

Frequently asked questions