--- title: "This is why there are four musketeers in every ‘Three Musketeers’ movie" description: "Not one of the movies ever takes the time to explain why the Three Musketeers blatantly features four musketeers. Find out the reason on WATM" date: "2021-02-18" modified: "2021-02-18" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-movies/this-is-why-there-are-four-musketeers/" categories: - "Entertainment" - "Movies and TV" --- # This is why there are four musketeers in every ‘Three Musketeers’ movie ![]() It never fails. You sit down to watch a "Three Musketeers" [movie or TV show]() and you're quickly introduced to Athos, Porthos, and Aramis...and also D'Artagnan. --- Not one of the movies ever takes the time to explain why the Three Musketeers blatantly features four musketeers. But first, a little about the French Musketeers: Musketeers were actually a common European military unit, known for carrying, well, muskets. In France, they were a little more serious than that. Their full name was "Musketeers of the Guard" and the unit was created by King Louis XIII when he purchased muskets for a unit of light cavalry. And of course, swords. The Musketeers became the Royal bodyguard but also fought in France's wars. they were like the Secret Service, if the Secret Service had a special operations unit that worked in frontline combat. Back to the four musketeers. French author Alexandre Dumas' epic takes place in the 1620s and follows a young man named D'Artagnan who has just left his home to go to Paris and join the Musketeers of the Guard. The young man meets and befriends "The Inseparables," a trio of Musketeers named Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. ![The three musketeers]() The barracks party with these three must have been off le chaîne. D'Artagnan does not actually become a Musketeer of the Guard until two-thirds through the book. Since the story is from D'Artagnan's point of view and he's not yet a Musketeer, it would be a very early version of stolen valor on the young man's part to call himself one. ![]() *Good on you, D'Artagnan.* If you read the book or watch the movie and just can't get enough D'Artagnan, I have good news for you. The character was based on a real person, Charles de Batz-Castelmore d'Artagnan. Dumas continues his adventures in "The Vicomte de Bragelonne: Ten Years Later" and "Twenty Years After." ### Watch more Elite Forces: ### [This is how piracy became totally legal during wartime]() ### [This is how Rome's Praetorian Guard held so much power]() ### This is why the rituals of the tattooed Maori Warriors live on ### [This is why Cossacks are Russia's legendary fighting force]() ### [These are the slave soldiers that defeated the Mongols]() ### [4 awesome facts about Shaolin Kung Fu]() ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()