Film adaptation of T.A. Barron’s The Merlin Saga in the works

Disney is currently developing a film adaptation of The Merlin Saga.

Deadline reports that Lord of the Rings writer Philippa Boyens has joined the project and will be writing the screenplay for a series of films based on the book series written by T.A. Barron.

Boyens is most well-known for her collaboration with Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh in adapting J.R.R. Tolkien’s trilogy The Lord of the Rings, as well as the film trilogy The Hobbit. She shares a 2002 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay with Jackson and Walsh for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. And she has also worked with them on King Kong and The Lovely Bones.

The Merlin Saga is a 12-book fantasy epic by American writer T.A. Barron covering the early years of the legendary sorcerer and his many adventures. The first five books are collectively called The Lost Years of Merlin; the next trilogy Merlin’s Dragon, followed by another trilogy called The Great Tree of Avalon. The first book was published in 1996, with the final book Merlin: The Book of Magic being published in 2011.

In an interview with Hypable, T.A. Barron expressed his enthusiasm about Boyens’ involvement in the project. Barron said:

“Awesome news that Philippa has joined the Merlin movie project! I’m thrilled. No one in the world is better at creating powerful epic fantasy films. Philippa brings great experience, wisdom, artistry, authenticity…and magic.”

The Merlin Saga isn’t the only interpretation of Arthurian legend that will be gracing the big screen soon. Disney is also currently working on a live-action adaptation of The Sword in the Stone with Game of Thrones writer Bryan Cogman, and Warner Bros. has recently completed production on Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur: Knights of the Roundtable. There is also the Camelot arc currently being explored in Once Upon a Time‘s fifth season.

If this first film is successful, The Merlin Saga may well become the next epic fantasy franchise. The source material is rich and exciting and a very talented team has been assembled to head the project, so fans of the book series have very high hopes.

Watch this space for more updates on The Merlin Saga film series.