Ridley Scott will Reportedly Start Shooting Disney's MERLIN SAGA This Fall and Here Are Some Details
According to a new report, director Ridley Scott is set to helm Disney’s Merlin Saga and apparently he’ll start production on it this fall.
A year ago it was reported that Scott was in negotiations to direct the film and if latest report from HN Entertainment is true, it sounds like he is officially on board.
The script for the film was written by Philippa Boyens, who is best known for co-writing Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies. With a team like Boyens and Scott developing this movie, it should turn out to be quite the fantasy epic!
The movie will be based on the T.A. Barron book series and the story follows the “origin story of a young Merlin who would go on to become the mentor of the classic literary character King Arthur.”
According to the report, the project will move forward with the working title The Lost Years, which is the title of the first book. I imagine that the film could be called Merlin: The Lost Years. They also shared some of the character breakdowns from the production:
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.
There are five books in the initial series, which was followed by the Great Tree of Avalon trilogy, Merlin’s Dragon trilogy, and a companion book, The Book of Magic. I’m sure that Disney is hoping that this could end up being a big fantasy franchise for them.