Warner Bros. has had an option on T.A. Barron’s five-book series The Lost Years of Merlin for a while now, and news has recently emerged that they’re still interested!
The series follows Merlin in his early years — before he became the infamous wizard we’ve all come to love and respect. Readers travel with Merlin across the magical land of Fincayra, where he journeys to understand more about his magic and his true destiny.
The author had this to say on his official Facebook page:
News on the ‘Merlin’ movie! Warner Bros. studio recently renewed its option to develop this film. And, as part of that process, they have asked a certain writer to help on the screenplay—somebody by the name of T. A. Barron. I’m very excited to have this new opportunity to help WB create a powerful, magical movie about young Merlin’s adventures! So all of you friends of Merlin out there … send your magic toward Hollywood!
Well, that’s exciting! A movie for the first book has been in the works for quite some time without too much progress. With the success of other recent YA books, such as The Hunger Games, and the projected success of such works as The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, it stands to reason that WB is looking at this as quite a profitable investment.
What’s even better is that Barron seems completely on board with the movie and plans on working closely with the creative team. This is obviously great news for fans of the series, who will want a true and faithful adaptation.
The movie, if it moves ahead at a steady pace, comes at a good time. With the giant Harry Potter franchise now closed, this new boy-wizard story will have less competition in the market. In addition, the popularity of such shows as BBC’s Merlin indicate that people are still interested in Arthurian legend. With Merlin on its last season, perhaps Barron’s story can at least help to fill the void left behind by the beloved television series.
For more information about the Lost Years of Merlin movie, including a rough time-line of its progress, visit the film’s page on Barron’s website.