Celebrated comic book writer and artist Frank Miller hasn’t yet written (or, at least, finished) Cursed, but that hasn’t stopped Netflix from ordering a 10-episode series based on the Arthurian novel.
According to a release from Netflix, the book — an illustrated affair to be co-penned by Miller and Tom Wheeler — and the series will be yet another reimagining of the King Arthur fiction, told this time from the perspective of Nimue, “a teenage heroine with a mysterious gift who is destined to become a powerful (and tragic) Lady of The Lake.” Nimue will join forces with Arthur himself in his quest to find the wizard Merlin and deliver “an ancient sword” (Excalibur?). Miller and Wheeler will serve as showrunners.
Miller is a modern comic legend who first gained recognition with Daredevil No. 158 in May 1979. In the years since, he is authored a number of popular comic books and graphic novels, including Ronin, 300, The Dark Knight Returns, and Sin City. He’s known for incorporating a film noir style into his writing and illustration, and for his use of Franco-Belgian (bandes dessinées) and Japanese (manga) styles as well. Miller has dipped his toes in the film world as well, directing The Spirit, producing 300 and co-directing both Sin City movies — along with Robert Rodriguez — and he’s written several screenplays, including those adapted and used for RoboCop 2 and RoboCop 3.
Wheeler, meanwhile, is a TV writer by trade, having cut his teeth on ABC’s 2005 miniseries Empire before going on to serve as executive producer and showrunner for NBC’s 2011 superhero drama The Cape, which ran for one season before cancellation due to low ratings. Wheeler will be the lead author on Cursed (the book), while Miller will lend his illustrative talents. The book is due out in 2019.
The Arthurian legend has been mined repeatedly over the years, though more often for feature-length films (see: King Arthur, The Sword in The Stone, Excalibur, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword) than for television series. The most prominent works to fall in the latter category include Merlin (twice), Camelot, and Once Upon A Time. Few of these received any significant acclaim from critics, so it will be interesting to see if Netflix can turn things around. Other new Netflix plans include two Carmen Sandiego projects and a potential Obama family series.
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