And the wait is finally over. The Badshah of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan, on Saturday took to social media to officially announce the release date of his upcoming film King with a power-packed reel.
Taking to his social media account, the actor unveiled striking visuals from the film while confirming that King will "roar" into cinemas on December 24, 2026.
The first visual in the announcement video features the bold title ROAR set against a dramatic backdrop. Another frame carries the impactful line, "This Christmas, fear wears the crown," further hinting at the film's larger-than-life scale and adding to the intrigue.
In the video, Shah Rukh Khan is seen exuding dominance, sporting a rugged look in a torn white shirt with his face splashed in blood.
Sharing the post, the actor wrote, "#KING is Ready to ROAR on 24.12.2026 in Cinemas. #ItsKingTime #KingDateAnnouncement."
The actor, known for his romantic films and for making an entire generation fall in love with his aura and presence, has stunned fans with this new action-packed avatar. In King, SRK is seen in a salt-and-pepper look, unleashing his gritty and gory avatar.
Netizens compared Shah Rukh Khan's mountain picture to the viral penguin meme, noting striking similarities between the two visuals
Netizens had mixed reactions to his look and the announcement clip. While many felt that SRK would kill it and that 2026 would end on a banger note, some said his slick look made him appear sick and dull.
Many netizens compared Shah Rukh Khan to the viral penguin walking towards a mountain, in reference to his pose against a mountainous backdrop. Fans believed that SRK perfectly nailed the viral lonely penguin trend, drawing parallels between the two visuals.
Meanwhile, apart from fans and celebrities, SRK's son Aryan Khan also took to social media to share the teaser, captioning it simply as Baap.
A user wrote, "He is looking almost 6.5 feet here♂️. Even the face looks digitally distorted."
Another wrote, "SRK looks slick? That's just a body double with a face swap? Can't u see the physique? SRK isn't that tall!"
The third one mentioned, "Can they just stop using digital backgrounds and start shooting in real locations ... like movies are always supposed to be.."
The fourth one mentioned, "i love him but hes just gotten too old for all this.."
The clip opened with a bird's-eye view of an island facility, with SRK's voice-over perfectly synced with high-octane action sequences.
Going by the voice-over, Shah Rukh Khan appears to play a ruthless mercenary who has lost count of how many people he has killed and no longer knows whether they were good or bad.
"100 desho'n mein badnaam, duniya ne diya sirf ek hi naam, KING," Shah Rukh was heard saying.
This heavy dependence on digitally rendered backgrounds has reached a point of exhaustion with the audience.
— ANMOL JAMWAL (@jammypants4) January 24, 2026
SRK looks slick as hell but the storyline (Sujoy Ghosh) has to be extremely compelling to paper over such cracks!#King pic.twitter.com/nihpnUNpOi
On Shah Rukh Khan's 60th birthday in November last year, the makers of King had unveiled the captivating title video from the forthcoming drama.
Sharing the initial glimpse of the film, the makers, Red Chillies Entertainment, wrote, "Sau deshon mein badnaam, duniya ne diya sirf ek hi naam #KING. #KingTitleReveal. It's Showtime! In cinemas 2026."
King also stars Deepika Padukone, Shah Rukh Khan's daughter Suhana Khan, and Jaideep Ahlawat.
