A string of tweets sent out by various news sites concerning the future of BBC’s Merlin have fans of the hit fantasy drama in a frenzy all over the internet.
UPDATE: The news has been confirmed.
Could the two part season finale, set to air right around Christmas this year, be the end of the series as a whole?
A set of tweets sent out by CustardTV writer Luke Knowles lead us to believe that there is a strong possibility that season 5 will be Merlin‘s last.
The tweets in question stated that CustardTV had received “official confirmation this morning” that the show will be ending “for good at Christmas”.
Though Knowles’ tweets have since been deleted, thanks to the dedicated Merlin fans of Tumblr, you can view the original tweets here.
CultBox (a much more reliable TV news source) took a different approach, instead sending out a rather ominous tweet, teasing big news to come at midnight, UK time tonight.
‘Merlin’ fans! Look out for a VERY BIG announcement on @cultboxtv at midnight tonight… (Our lips are sealed until then we’re afraid!)
— CultBox (@CultBoxTV) November 25, 2012
News of season 5 being Merlin‘s last may not come as much of a shock to some fans who had always speculated the series would end this year. It has been common knowledge that the show runners had a five-year plan for the series from the start but due to the show’s massive popularity, many fans are still holding out hope that the show will come back for a season 6 next year.
Though Merlin as a television series may be coming to a close, co-creators and producers Johnny Capps and Julian Murphy have given the fandom cause to believe that Merlin might yet be in our lives in some form or another for years to come.
Most notably at San Diego Comic-Con this past summer, Capps and Murphy went on the record to say that they have plans to reboot BBC’s Merlin into a three-part movie trilogy. Though the creators seem keen to turn the successful franchise into a film, it is yet to be seen if the project will indeed be given the green light.
And the question still remains, if they indeed do movies, whether it’ll be a reboot of the BBC series (with different actors) or a continuation of the current story. Which would you prefer?
Regardless of what this mysterious Merlin announcement ends up being tonight, you can be sure we’ll have it up for you here on Hypable as soon as it hits!
Would you want to see Merlin continue on for a sixth series? Let us know what you think in the comments below!