Merlin (Live-Action)

[Sotiris]

Patrick Massett and John Zinman, the scribes who wrote Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, have been tapped to pen the adaptation of The Lost Years of Merlin, the YA book series written by T.A. Barron. Gil Netter (Life of Pi, The Blind Side) is producing. Disney’s movie adaptation is being titled Young Merlin at this stage. The books centered on a teen who will one day be the powerful mage who sits at the right hand of King Arthur. But first he has many lessons to master, including how to temper his darker leanings and his pride. Much of the action takes place on the enchanted isle of Fincayra, where the teen wizard embarks on many a quest with female companion Rhia and wannabe jester Bumbelwy. The antagonist is Rhita Gawr, a spirit world warlord.

Source: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-v ... ung-691394

[Disney's Divinity]

I remember reading this when I was a child. I don't remember everything about it now, but nice to see the series becoming a film(s)

[Escapay]

I'll check it out, but will probably watch the BBC series again if this one doesn't hold my attention.

Albert

[Sotiris]

I'm surprised they're going forward with this project since Disney also has a Sword in the Stone remake in the works.

Disney has set Philippa Boyens to script an adaptation of The Merlin Saga, based on the series of books written by T.A. Barron. Life Of Pi‘s Gil Netter is producing. It’s a coup for the studio to land Boyens, who hasn’t really worked outside her long collaboration with Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, with whom she shared the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay in 2002 for the Best Picture winner The Return Of The King. She has teamed with Jackson and Walsh on The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, as well as King Kong and The Lovely Bones.

It turned out that when Sean Bailey’s Disney division called, it was a fortuitous moment, and the formative story of the iconic wizard was the right subject matter. Boyens came from New Zealand to meet with Bailey and supervising execs Tendo Nagenda and Foster Driver, and Merlin was a character and a world that appealed to her. Also, Jackson and Walsh are only just beginning to figure out what next after finally being able to poke their heads out of Middle Earth. So there is time. Boyens has a good relationship with Alan Horn, who at Warner Bros greenlit The Hobbit and was an exec producer on the trilogy.

The studio now has a writer with a strong grasp of how to launch a franchise in a period fantasy world, and a franchise is certainly a hope for the Merlin movie. The young wizard is the center of a much larger story where the stakes are no less than the future of magic in the world.

Warner Bros has already completed production on King Arthur: Knights of the Roundtable, with Guy Ritchie directing, but this sounds like it could be a closer cousin to a series like Harry Potter as a wizard figures out his spell-weaving abilities. Barron has created plenty of room in his origin story, as the book series spans 12 volumes. Disney picked up the books after Warner Bros let them go. Patrick Massett and John Zinman were the first scribes brought on.

Source: http://deadline.com/2015/11/philippa-bo ... 201627184/

[Disney's Divinity]

Oh, yes! I loved these books as a child. Very happy about this. This'll give me the incentive to re-read them; it's been too long.

From what I remember, the books are set in an entirely different world before Merlin is sent to this world at the end of the book series, where the usual Arthur tales then begin. So, it wouldn't really affect a film based on The Sword in the Stone. Although he does come into contact with his future self at one point in the books.

[JeanGreyForever]

I like the idea of this. I never felt as though Disney did the Arthurian stories of Camelot justice, so I'm glad to see Merlin get his own movie.

[Sotiris]

Updates

Ridley Scott in Talks to Direct ‘Merlin Saga’ Adaptation at Disney
http://variety.com/2018/film/news/ridle ... 202653790/

Disney’s ‘Merlin Saga’ Lands ‘Gladiator’ Costume Designer
https://thegww.com/disneys-merlin-saga- ... -designer/

Ridley Scott’s ‘Merlin’ Adds ‘Prometheus’ Cinematographer and Production Designer
https://thegww.com/ridley-scotts-merlin ... -designer/

Disney/Ridley Scott’s ‘Merlin Saga’ Looking To Film At Shepperton Studios
https://thegww.com/disney-ridley-scotts ... n-studios/

Ridley Scott's 'Merlin Saga' Adds 'Rogue One/Alien: Covenant' SFX Supervisor
https://thegww.com/ridley-scotts-merlin ... upervisor/

[Sotiris]

While Ridley Scott is going to busy for the next little while with his TNT sci-fi series Raised By Wolves, his next film will be an adaptation of T.A. Barron’s series of novels of a young Merlin for Walt Disney Studios. The script was penned by Oscar-winning screenwriter Philippa Boyens, who is best known for writing the Lord of The Rings and Hobbit trilogies.

HN Entertainment has exclusively obtained the film’s character breakdowns and some production information.

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.

While it’s been referred to as “Merlin Saga”, the project’s current working title is “The Lost Years”. There is a good chance it could end up being called Merlin: The Lost Years. They’re also aiming for a fall production start.

Source: https://hnentertainment.co/exclusive-ri ... -revealed/

[JeanGreyForever]

I like Ridley Scott's works a lot but I wonder how successful this film series will be. Arthurian films tend to flop at the box office.

[blackcauldron85]

Would this not be for Disney+? The Kid Who Would Be King & King Arthur: Legend of the Sword didn't do well at the box office.

Another thought I had was a fantasy movie staring a pre-teen boy, like Artemis Fowl; that movie's trailer has had some people worry about the future of non-remakes/sequels at Disney.

I'm not trying to be a negative Nelly, just curious how this will play out.

*edit* JeanGreyForever said it first- guess I didn't scroll all the way down.

[Sotiris]

Updates from the author.

I recently moved the Merlin movie project to a new studio — Disney. At Disney, it’s had a wonderfully enthusiastic reception — and I am greatly impressed with the professionalism and passion of everyone involved. Best of all, Disney is busy assembling a truly terrific team! We have a fabulous producer, Gil Netter. Among other films, he produced Life of Pi, The Blind Side, and Ghost. In addition, the project has attracted a pair of outstanding writers, Patrick Massett and John Zinman, to work on the script. We still have much hard work to do … but with this team in place, and the strong support for this project at Disney, I am very encouraged. And the leader of our team, as always, is Merlin himself. He continues to inspire us all!

Source: https://tabarron.com/merlin-the-movie/

We’re making great progress on the script — the essential first step in any movie. And since this movie will be about the origins of Merlin, the greatest wizard of all time, that script needs to be absolutely terrific! It must be worthy of Merlin. That’s the goal — nothing less. My producer Gil Netter (Life of Pi, The Blind Side, Ghost) and the writers John Zinman and Patrick Masset have been working hard to craft a script that will bring the origins of Merlin to life on the big screen. Since this film will be based on my books from The Merlin Saga, they have been very inclusive of me in this process. All of us want this film to be true to the authentic young wizard who has captured the hearts of people everywhere. In addition, the people at Disney have been the best studio partners imaginable — hugely helpful in every way. I couldn’t be more excited!

Source: https://tabarron.com/merlin-the-movie/

I’m absolutely thrilled that Philippa Boyens has joined the Merlin movie project! She is truly world class. As a creator of powerful epic fantasy on the big screen, there is nobody with more wisdom, artistry, authenticity, and (I’m delighted to say) pure magic!

Source: https://tabarron.com/merlin-the-movie/

Right now I’m in Wellington, New Zealand. It’s a beautiful place to be for any reason — especially for creative meetings with Philippa Boyens, the wonderful script writer who is working on the Merlin movie for Disney. She’s a brilliant story teller, a true master of her craft, and I love the way she thinks. We’re having fabulous, wide-ranging conversations. Exciting! I’m learning a lot about how very different writing a film is from writing a novel — even as the basics of powerful storytelling remain constant. And I’m feeling very grateful to the folks at Disney for including me so fully at this stage of the filmmaking process (highly unusual for the author of the books). While this movie will necessarily be different in some ways from the books, they are doing a marvelous job of bringing to life the most essential and enduring elements of Merlin’s adventures. I’m eager to watch the process develop — and more excited than ever to see the movie someday! There’s still much hard work to do…but we are well on the way.

Source: https://tabarron.com/merlin-the-movie/

Today the script arrived for the Disney movie based on The Merlin Saga. It’s truly fabulous! Yes, even magical. All I can say is I’m thrilled with what script writer Philippa Boyens has done to adapt this story to the big screen.

Source: https://tabarron.com/merlin-the-movie/

Good progress on the Merlin movie at Disney! After two days of meetings, I’m very pleased with what is happening — and wherever Merlin is right now, I’m sure he feels the same. Here are my notes from the meetings at the studio… https://tabarron.com/wp-content/uploads/Movie52019.jpeg

Source: https://tabarron.com/merlin-the-movie/

Despite the twists and turns of this time for the entertainment industry, Disney has continued to make great progress on the Merlin movie. They are assembling a truly brilliant team. More news on that front soon. And of course… there’s a certain Wizard who is always watching over this whole project!

Source: https://tabarron.com/merlin-the-movie/

[Clindor]

As far as I’m concerned I was actually more interested in this project than the TSITS remake. It would be another way to explore the legends around Merlin

[Disney's Divinity]

From that picture, I hope that means they're going to keep the majority of the characters from the books.

[Sotiris]

The project is back in development.

Michael Matthews is set to direct Disney’s Merlin, an adaptation of T.A. Barron’s novel series where King Arthur’s wizardry mentor is at the center of the story. Ridley Scott, who directed the 20th Century Medieval pic The Last Duel, which bows today in theaters, was attached to direct at one point but parted ways due to his busy schedule. Sources say the film is still in early development with Disney’s live-action team. Gil Netter is producing from with the latest draft by Chris Weitz.

Source: https://deadline.com/2021/10/love-and-m ... 234856523/

[Disney's Divinity]

What a loss @ Ridley Scott dropping out of this. :/

[Sotiris]

Ridley Scott Recalls Turning Down Big Disney Project: ‘I Don’t Do Wizard Films’
https://www.indiewire.com/2022/01/ridle ... 234690872/

Disney Reveals Cost of Stalled Sorcerer Film
https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinere ... erer-film/

[Disney's Divinity]

Weird. Why would have they have been attached early on then? Surely he had to know it was "wizard film" from the title alone to not accidentally end up part of it for a hot second.

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Ridley Scott did direct the Tom Cruise fantasy movie Legend in 1985, and even if it wasn't about a wizard, it did have plenty of magic. Maybe if he had been given a script that he liked.