Guy Ritchie is not letting the bad reviews, that his gangster drama Revolver is getting, shake his confidence – he is going ahead with his next project, a comedy set during the 16th century Great Siege of Malta.

Knights of Malta has long been in gestation. Swept Away, the director’s previous flop, starring his wife, Madonna, was shot in Malta and was supposed to be the “filler project” as he worked away on the siege epic.

After Swept Away’s critical mauling, Knights appeared on indefinite hold... till now.

“I was going to do [Knights] first but then a load of epics came out. So I thought I’d see how they did. I’d still like to make it,” Guy Ritchie said.

The film seeks to depict the last great event of the crusades and one of the turning points in the Renaissance, when the Ottoman empire under Suleiman planned an invasion of Europe, using the christian island of Malta as its beachhead, leading to a siege of the christian island of Malta that lasted four months in 1565.

It was felt at the time that the timing of a Christians versus Muslims epic was all wrong, given 9/11 but Steven Spielberg’s courage to tackle the issue of a clash of civilisations with Munich, now seems to have rubbed off on Ritchie.