Ridley Scott will helm Disney’s Merlin movie adaptation of T.A. Barron’s The Merlin Saga. Here’s everything you need to know.
Last year we learned Ridley Scott’s production company, Scott Free, was in negotiations with Disney to produce the movie adaptation of T.A. Barron’s beloved children’s book series.
Now, a source is reporting that the new Merlin movie may start filming as early as fall 2019. Even better? We have character breakdowns for the main players of the movie adaptation.
‘The Lost Years of Merlin’ movie character list
EMRYS (MALE LEAD 12-15): Caucasian. The boy who would become the legendary wizard Merlin. Emotionally erratic. Eccentric. Prone to wild mood swings. Brilliant. Sometimes, he is calm and controlled, thoughtful, with a hint of mad whimsy.
BRANWEN (FEMALE LEAD 30-40): Caucasian. Emrys’ mother.
RHIANNON (FEMALE LEAD 12-20): Open to any ethnicity. Seeks Emrys’ assistance in stopping a terrible blight which is now beginning to kill the forest she lives in.
SHIM (MALE LEAD 20-40): Open to any ethnicity. A dwarf-sized giant, befriend Emrys.
RHITA GAWR (FEMALE LEAD 30-50): Open to any ethnicity. An evil spirit who wants to control Fincayra before moving on to Earth. Enemy to Emrys, the film’s villain.
If filming on the Merlin movie begins in fall 2019, Disney could potentially set its release date for 2021.
More about Ridley Scott’s ‘The Merlin Saga’
Adapted for the screen by Philippa Boyens (Lord of the Rings), the upcoming film is set to tell the origin story of Merlin in his younger years, before he becomes young King Arthur’s mentor in his later years.
Hollywood seems to be enamored with the idea of adapting Arthurian legends in some form or another these days.
On the Disney front, The Merlin Saga is one of two Arthurian legend-themed films in the works. The other is a live-action version of The Sword In The Stone. Interestingly, Variety also reports that Scott has met with Disney execs about helming their live-action adaptation as well, though the job has now gone to Juan Carlos Fresnadillo.
Meanwhile, we learned back in August of 2016 that Fox is currently in the process of working on a police procedural series named Camelot, which will play around with the characters of Arthurian legends reimagined in modern-day times.
While there are no shortages of Arthurian adaptations, the one thing Disney’s The Merlin Series might have going for it is that it’ll focus more on Merlin’s journey than that of Arthur’s.
Then again, The Merlin Saga won’t be the first to shine a spotlight on the famed wizard’s journey. Nor will it be the first entity to age the iconic mage down.
BBC’s beloved Merlin series (which ran from 2008-2012) similarly turned the legend on its head by aging Merlin, Arthur, and the rest of our favorite characters down in order to tell their own origin story of the king and sorcerer.
We’ll be interested to see how Disney’s adaptation turns out, and we’re sure fans of T.A. Barron’s series will be looking forward to seeing how they’ll translate his story onto the big screen.
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