After King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword failed (at least, as of yet) to ignite a new cinematic franchise based around tales of the round table and the knights who sit there, we'd have expected things to go quiet on the Arthur front. Not so! Comics legend Frank Miller and DreamWorks Animation veteran writer Tom Wheeler have been cooking up an illustrated young adult with a new take on the adventures and have now sold that idea to Netflix as a drama series called Cursed.
Planned as a re-imagining of the Arthurian legends, the story is told through the eyes of Nimue, a young woman destined to become the Lady Of The Lake. When her mother dies, she teams up with young mercenary Arthur in a quest to locate Merlin and deliver an ancient sword. On the way, she becomes a symbol of courage and rebellion against the terrifying Red Paladins and King Uther.
"I have always been entranced by the mythological Arthur story – and by Nimue, in particular," says Miller. "It can be interpreted in any number of ways – from a delightful children’s story, as in The Sword In The Stone, to a terrifying interpretation like Excalibur."
Wheeler, who provided scripts for films such as Puss In Boots and Warners' Lego Ninjago Movie, is writing the book, with Miller the illustrations, and they're both attached to executive produce the show, which is an unusual move for such an idea. They'll be working on the characters in both formats, so there will likely be subtle changes between them, much in the way that Game Of Thrones adapts its source material.
Netflix has handed out a 10-episode initial order for the on screen version, so expect to hear more about people involved on both sides of the camera of that one soon.
Keep up to date with all the latest movie news, click here to subscribe to Empire and have the latest issue delivered to your door every month.