Merlin Coming To The Big Screen

 

A modern day Merlin is currently in the works from Working Title, based on a pitch from screenwriter Jay Basu.  His current project is writing the adaptation of British crime novel Bad Traffic for producer Nick Wechsler. 

As of right now, no amount of magic can gain information about this new project that is shrouded in secrecy.  There have been a number of times that Merlin has ventured on-screen.  

The character of Merlin stems from the legend of King Arthur.  Without Merlin there would not be characters such as Albus Dumbledore, Gandalf or even Obi-Wan Kenobi.  

Merlin typically appears in settings based in the mystical times of old England.  When he has appeared in modern day settings, the outcomes have been very lackluster.  The character of Merlin made a very brief appearance as the title character played by Bernard Hughes in Mr Merlin as an auto mechanic in 1981 San Francisco. Most recently Merlin was played by Nicholas Cage in The Sorcerer's Apprentice, which was disappointing.

My first introduction to Merlin was in Disney's The Sword And The Stone and later in Excalibur starring Liam Neeson.  I love the mythology surrounding him and hope that they make the film with lots of action and not too cheesy.  

What are your thoughts?