Earlier today, we told you about a big announcement concerning BBC’s Merlin which would be coming soon.
Though rumors quickly began swirling among fans online that the big news would be an official announcement concerning the end of the series, we can now officially confirm that season 5 of BBC’s hit fantasy drama will be its last.
CultBox confirmed the news, stating that the BBC promises a ‘spectacular conclusion’ to the hit fantasy drama after a great five season run.
According to the press release, the season finale will allow fans to see Merlin’s re-telling of the Arthurian legend reach “its natural and dramatic end.”
Co-creators of the series Johnny Capps and Julian Murphy had the following to say regarding the announcement:
This is the series where the story lines truly reach their apex. We always felt the story of the legend was best told across five series, leading to a spectacular finale that draws on the best known elements of this much-loved story and brings to a conclusion the battle for Camelot. We’d like to thank the amazing cast and crew for their professionalism and dedication, the BBC, FME and all of our partners globally for their incredible support and encouragement across the last five series. But chiefly, our thanks go to Merlin’s remarkable and loyal audience around the world for their enthusiasm for the characters and Camelot universe.
Eoin Macken who plays the beloved Sir Gwaine on the show, tweeted about the end of the series shortly following the announcement:
For the ppl sad about Merlin,it’s true this is the end of it, sorry about that…if I’d my way the knights would be flying superheroes ..
— Eoin Macken (@eoincmacken) November 26, 2012
While we now have confirmation that the television series will not continue after its five season run concludes with what will surely be an epic two-part series finale, Merlin fans should take comfort in the fact that this may not truly be the end of Merlin’s story.
It is common knowledge by now that Merlin co-creators and producers Johnny Capps and Julian Murphy have made it known for quite some time that they’ve been toying around with the idea of making Merlin into a movie trilogy.
Though the project has not yet been green lit, Capps and Murphy have spoken out in previous interviews saying they have toyed with a few potential ideas for how a movie trilogy could work.
In one interview, the showrunners were quoted as saying they could see the movies becoming a continuation of the television series which leads us to believe that they would start where the show leaves off in season 5.
In another, the creators were quoted as saying the movies could turn into a reboot of the series. In this case they would follow the stories and events which take place in BBC’s Merlin but would also add stories that we have never seen before.
We think the most pressing question on fans minds at the moment is: would they keep the same cast if the were to make Merlin into a film?
We’ll just have to wait and see.
Regardless of the potential film trilogy, we still have four more episodes of Merlin to get through before the show meets its end. We anticipate a rather tearful goodbye to the characters we have all come to know and love, regardless of what ends up happening during the two-part conclusion to the series this season.
What has been your favorite Merlin moment of the series as a whole so far? What are you hoping to see between now and the series finale of the show?
Read our Open Letter to BBC and the Merlin showrunners to find out what we think!