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Disney Snags Director Ridley Scott For The Merlin Saga

Variety is reporting tonight that Disney is in talks with the legendary Ridley Scott to direct The Merlin Saga for them. Based on the novels by T.A. Barron, which have been adapted by Philippa Boyens, the project will tell the origin story of its titular protagonist, "who would go on to become the mentor of the classic literary character King Arthur."

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Well, this is certainly surprising to hear.

Variety is reporting tonight that Disney is in talks with the legendary Ridley Scott to direct The Merlin Saga for them. Based on the novels by T.A. Barron, which have been adapted by Philippa Boyens, the project will tell the origin story of its titular protagonist, “who would go on to become the mentor of the classic literary character King Arthur.”

From what we understand, Barron’s series spans 12 novels and while it’s unclear which of them Scott’s film will adapt, we imagine that Disney is angling this as a potential franchise, with The Merlin Saga to perhaps bring to life the first and maybe even second book, while future sequels handle the rest.

Courtesy of Amazon, here’s the official synopsis:

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 intertwined.

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

Sounds like perfect material for a feature film series and in the hands of an incredibly talented director like Ridley Scott, The Merlin Saga could definitely become Hollywood’s next big franchise. Then again, recent efforts like King Arthur: Legend of the Sword have proven that there may not be much of an appetite for this type of stuff. Not to mention that the last time Scott went back to a similar time period, he gave us Kingdom of Heaven, which wasn’t very well received.

Still, we’ll hold out hope. Barron’s books are adored by many around the world and Disney’s usually pretty dependable. Plus, it’ll be a nice change of pace for Sir Ridley, who’s been doing a lot of space set movies in recent years (Alien: CovenantPrometheusThe Martian).

We’ll continue to keep you posted as this story develops, but tell us, are you excited to see what the director can do with The Merlin Saga? Sound off in the usual place with your thoughts.