We’ve been very bullish on how excited we are for David Lowery’s The Green Knight since last year. Lowery’s immense skill has been evident in his previous films, like the haunting, quietly devasting A Ghost Story, so we were enthused when we heard he was taking on an Arthurian legend and that he cast Dev Patel as his leading man. Now, in a new clip from A24, we see Patel’s would-be knight, Gawain, and Alicia Vikander (who has two roles in the film) in a moment of tenderness before Gawain’s off to deal with more pressing matters .

Those matters are Gawain’s quest to become a knight, something expected of him considering he’s King Arthur’s nephew. His way of achieving that goal is to accept a deadly challenge from Ralph Ineson’s titular Green Knight. The challenge seems easy—the Green Knight says he will give any man the chance to strike him down with a weapon, in a single blow, but (and it’s a big but) a year later, he gets to return the favor. On its face, this challenge seems suicidal for the Green Knight—a single blow could decapitate him—but the Green Knight is no ordinary mortal. Sure enough, Sir Gawain accepts the challenge and decapitates the Green Knight—and that’s when his trouble starts. The Green Knight scoops his severed head off the floor and rides off, cackling. Yikes. But also, awesome.

Joining Patel, Vikander, and Ineson are Joel Edgerton, Sarita Choudhury, Sean Harris, Kate Dickie, Berry Keoghan, and Erin Kellyman. The Green Knight hits theaters on July 30. Check out the clip below: