Disney's YOUNG MERLIN Movie to be Written by TOMB RAIDER Writers

Disney is truly a force to be reckoned with these days. It seems like everything they touch turns to gold, except for The Lone Ranger of course. The studio has a young Merlin project in the works and they've hired Tomb Raider scribes Patrick Massett and John Zinman to write the script. They also recently wrote Tom Cruise's racing project, Go Like Hell.

The movie will be an adaptation of the young adult book series, The Lost Years of Merlin, which was written by T.A. Barron. As of right now the movie is called Young Merlin, and the story focuses on "a teen who will one day be the powerful mage who helps King Arthur. But first he has many lessons to master, including how to temper his darker leanings and his pride." 

THR talks about the story more saying that "much of the action takes place on an enchanted isle named Fincayra and features many a quest, on which the teen embarks with a female companion named Rhia and a wannabe jester named Bumbelwy. The antagonist is Rhita Gawr, a spirit world warlord."

This sounds like it could be a really fun movie if done right. It will be interesting to see who they bring on to direct the film and who they cast. Here's the description from the book:

Washed up on the shores of ancient Wales, the boy had no home, no memory and no name... he was determined to find all three. 

This best-selling series follows the adventures and training of young Merlin on the mist-shrouded isle of Fincayra, an enchanted land between earth and sky that is being destroyed by blight. With this land's inhabitants to guide him, the boy will learn that Fincayra's fate and his own quest are strangely interwined. 

He is destined to become the greatest wizard of all time--known to all as Merlin.