THE actor insists the creators of the show have always had a five-year plan but reckons there is scope for further stories should they decided to continue the show.
TONIGHT could be the beginning of the end for family fantasy series Merlin.
But its star Colin Morgan has promised it’s going to be magic – the best series yet.
There was always a five-year plan for the BBC’s lavish adaptation of the Arthurian legend, which took Merlin and Arthur back to their boyhoods.
But there had been recent talk that, because of its success, it would get one more series.
Partly filmed in France (Chateau de Pierrefonds in Picardy – the site of the castle that doubles for Camelot), each episode costs between £1million and £1.5million to produce, but the drama more than makes up for it, as it’s sold to 180 countries.
Colin can certainly see the merits of extending the series, and there is talk of a film version.
He said: “There are endless stories you can explore.
“But the producers have always had a five-year plan for the show.
“We are about to finish filming the fifth series and it’s by far the strongest and best that we’ve made.
“It’s always important to go out on a high.
“It’s a conversation to have with the boys upstairs and that will happen when we’ve finished filming.”
When pressed, the 26-year-old from Armagh, Northern Ireland, who uses an English accent for Merlin, won’t give away what outcome he would like, but did say: “You’ve got to go with your gut instinct.
“You have to ask questions such as, ‘is there potential for me?’ And, ‘will the quality of what
we are doing be maintained?’”
More tellingly, he added: “The feeling on the set at the moment is great. I think this series is really special.”
He has already said it’s the series he’s been waiting for. And like many fans (there are more than seven million) this means seeing Merlin in his old white-haired form doing magic, rather than the bashful serving boy King Arthur sees him as.
Colin talks warmly of the father and son relationship with veteran Scots actor Richard Wilson, who plays Merlin’s medical teacher Gaius.
Colin said: “It’s going to address a lot of the things I’ve always wanted to explore in the series.
“A big part of that is Merlin becoming more focused and becoming more of the advisor role that he is always meant to take.”
The great twist of Merlin is that the magic is secret. The first few series had King Uther, played by Anthony Head, banning magic.
Arthur, played by Bradley James, was a spoiled It-Boy prince and Guinevere (his wife-to-be, played by Angel Coulby) was a servant.
It’s a very different legend to the one we have been taught about the medieval leader of the late 5th and early 6th Centuries.
The folklore of the sword Excalibur, the Knights of the Round Table and Camelot is one that many countries have claimed as their own, including Scotland.
Last year, archaeologists searching for King Arthur’s Round Table found a circular feature beneath the historic King’s Knot in the grounds of Stirling Castle.
Although intrigued (especially as he spent three years studying drama in Glasgow) that Arthur and Merlin could have been Scots, Colin isn’t about to throw his magic wand into that particular pot.
He said: “From what I’ve read everyone has a claim on Merlin.
“Was he Scottish, Welsh, English or even French?
“All these countries have got a big claim on him and Camelot.
“That’s why the Arthurian legends are so popular – because they are such good stories.
“When I think of Camelot, I think of the castle in France where we film, but I think it’s wrong to lock it down to one place because it’s all part of our imagination. They are legends for a reason. Their stories have endured for hundreds of years and, hopefully, they will for hundreds of years to come.”
Colin’s Merlin, for the most part, is an awkward young boy who, rather like Harry Potter, has survived most of his scrapes by luck rather than the magic he possesses.
But there have been moments when we have seen a glimpse of the greatest wizard of them all – when he turns into Emrys, the Merlin character of legend.
Colin, who got the part of Merlin a year after graduating in 2007 from what is now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, is almost unrecognisable – something he’s very proud of .
But he revealed: “It’s quite creepy to be an old guy.
“You’re just not meant to see yourself like that for at least another 60 years.”
And Colin found that becoming an old man certainly takes time.
“It takes four hours to turn into Emrys and then another one hour to take it all off,” he said.
“People are always asking if it’s my real nose. It’s a prosthetic.
“For all the time it takes, I do love it when I’m Emrys. It’s how Merlin is supposed to be.
“And I can reveal that there’s another character Merlin transforms into in this series.”
But frustratingly he won’t say who.
So what can we say about the fifth series?
It’s three years on from the end of series four, when the wizard dealt a fatal magical blow to Arthur’s villainous uncle, Agravaine de Bois (played by Nathaniel Parker), who was in league with Morgana (Katie McGrath).
Camelot is basking in a new golden age, but of course, not all is well, and in the frozen wastelands of the north, men are disappearing.
Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table must find out what is happening.
There is also a huge mystery as to what Morgana has been doing and there is also the return of the grown-up Mordred.
Colin said: “Things are serious. There’s stuff happening up North in the frozen lands.
“The big thing is there’s a three-year gap, so immediately you see Camelot in a different state, one that Arthur has been wanting it to be, and Merlin finds his place in that as well.
“Morgana has been in prison and is a changed person, while Mordred comes into the picture.
“He’s a huge figure in how things are going to pan out.”
Merlin still isn’t “out” as a magician. But this year Colin revealed the producers have been throwing even more into making it a world-beating fantasy series.
The actors have been using more green screen and the producers have even been creating characters from scratch using the same technology they use for the FIFA video game rendition of the world’s famous footballers.
Colin is happy that Merlin is still the bumbling servant we know and not the all-powerful wizard of legend – just yet.
He said: “Although he’s more of an advisor to Arthur, he is still a servant. But if Merlin got upgraded things would be different, and I don’t think Arthur wants things to change because the relationship works the way it is.”
Thankfully, after five years, when filming stops, Bradley and his other co-stars don’t keep on treating Colin badly, telling him to make tea or fetch their lunch.
Colin laughed: “Any of those kind of jokes five years down the line would get quick thrift from me.
“I would probably get their heads looked at.
“But this series is definitely the most fun since we began filming.”
Merlin is back, catch it tonight on BBC1 at 7.45pm.
source: dailyrecord.co.uk
But its star Colin Morgan has promised it’s going to be magic – the best series yet.
There was always a five-year plan for the BBC’s lavish adaptation of the Arthurian legend, which took Merlin and Arthur back to their boyhoods.
But there had been recent talk that, because of its success, it would get one more series.
Partly filmed in France (Chateau de Pierrefonds in Picardy – the site of the castle that doubles for Camelot), each episode costs between £1million and £1.5million to produce, but the drama more than makes up for it, as it’s sold to 180 countries.
Colin can certainly see the merits of extending the series, and there is talk of a film version.
He said: “There are endless stories you can explore.
“But the producers have always had a five-year plan for the show.
“We are about to finish filming the fifth series and it’s by far the strongest and best that we’ve made.
“It’s always important to go out on a high.
“It’s a conversation to have with the boys upstairs and that will happen when we’ve finished filming.”
When pressed, the 26-year-old from Armagh, Northern Ireland, who uses an English accent for Merlin, won’t give away what outcome he would like, but did say: “You’ve got to go with your gut instinct.
“You have to ask questions such as, ‘is there potential for me?’ And, ‘will the quality of what
we are doing be maintained?’”
More tellingly, he added: “The feeling on the set at the moment is great. I think this series is really special.”
He has already said it’s the series he’s been waiting for. And like many fans (there are more than seven million) this means seeing Merlin in his old white-haired form doing magic, rather than the bashful serving boy King Arthur sees him as.
Colin talks warmly of the father and son relationship with veteran Scots actor Richard Wilson, who plays Merlin’s medical teacher Gaius.
Colin said: “It’s going to address a lot of the things I’ve always wanted to explore in the series.
“A big part of that is Merlin becoming more focused and becoming more of the advisor role that he is always meant to take.”
The great twist of Merlin is that the magic is secret. The first few series had King Uther, played by Anthony Head, banning magic.
Arthur, played by Bradley James, was a spoiled It-Boy prince and Guinevere (his wife-to-be, played by Angel Coulby) was a servant.
It’s a very different legend to the one we have been taught about the medieval leader of the late 5th and early 6th Centuries.
The folklore of the sword Excalibur, the Knights of the Round Table and Camelot is one that many countries have claimed as their own, including Scotland.
Last year, archaeologists searching for King Arthur’s Round Table found a circular feature beneath the historic King’s Knot in the grounds of Stirling Castle.
Although intrigued (especially as he spent three years studying drama in Glasgow) that Arthur and Merlin could have been Scots, Colin isn’t about to throw his magic wand into that particular pot.
He said: “From what I’ve read everyone has a claim on Merlin.
“Was he Scottish, Welsh, English or even French?
“All these countries have got a big claim on him and Camelot.
“That’s why the Arthurian legends are so popular – because they are such good stories.
“When I think of Camelot, I think of the castle in France where we film, but I think it’s wrong to lock it down to one place because it’s all part of our imagination. They are legends for a reason. Their stories have endured for hundreds of years and, hopefully, they will for hundreds of years to come.”
Colin’s Merlin, for the most part, is an awkward young boy who, rather like Harry Potter, has survived most of his scrapes by luck rather than the magic he possesses.
But there have been moments when we have seen a glimpse of the greatest wizard of them all – when he turns into Emrys, the Merlin character of legend.
Colin, who got the part of Merlin a year after graduating in 2007 from what is now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, is almost unrecognisable – something he’s very proud of .
But he revealed: “It’s quite creepy to be an old guy.
“You’re just not meant to see yourself like that for at least another 60 years.”
And Colin found that becoming an old man certainly takes time.
“It takes four hours to turn into Emrys and then another one hour to take it all off,” he said.
“People are always asking if it’s my real nose. It’s a prosthetic.
“For all the time it takes, I do love it when I’m Emrys. It’s how Merlin is supposed to be.
“And I can reveal that there’s another character Merlin transforms into in this series.”
But frustratingly he won’t say who.
So what can we say about the fifth series?
It’s three years on from the end of series four, when the wizard dealt a fatal magical blow to Arthur’s villainous uncle, Agravaine de Bois (played by Nathaniel Parker), who was in league with Morgana (Katie McGrath).
Camelot is basking in a new golden age, but of course, not all is well, and in the frozen wastelands of the north, men are disappearing.
Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table must find out what is happening.
There is also a huge mystery as to what Morgana has been doing and there is also the return of the grown-up Mordred.
Colin said: “Things are serious. There’s stuff happening up North in the frozen lands.
“The big thing is there’s a three-year gap, so immediately you see Camelot in a different state, one that Arthur has been wanting it to be, and Merlin finds his place in that as well.
“Morgana has been in prison and is a changed person, while Mordred comes into the picture.
“He’s a huge figure in how things are going to pan out.”
Merlin still isn’t “out” as a magician. But this year Colin revealed the producers have been throwing even more into making it a world-beating fantasy series.
The actors have been using more green screen and the producers have even been creating characters from scratch using the same technology they use for the FIFA video game rendition of the world’s famous footballers.
Colin is happy that Merlin is still the bumbling servant we know and not the all-powerful wizard of legend – just yet.
He said: “Although he’s more of an advisor to Arthur, he is still a servant. But if Merlin got upgraded things would be different, and I don’t think Arthur wants things to change because the relationship works the way it is.”
Thankfully, after five years, when filming stops, Bradley and his other co-stars don’t keep on treating Colin badly, telling him to make tea or fetch their lunch.
Colin laughed: “Any of those kind of jokes five years down the line would get quick thrift from me.
“I would probably get their heads looked at.
“But this series is definitely the most fun since we began filming.”
Merlin is back, catch it tonight on BBC1 at 7.45pm.
source: dailyrecord.co.uk
No comments:
Post a Comment