EXCLUSIVE: New Pendragon Cycle Trailer Pulls Back the Curtain on ‘Intersection of Great Art and Christian Values’

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—The Daily Wire is releasing a new trailer for its forthcoming series, “The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin,” which producer Dallas Sonnier celebrates as representing “the intersection of great art and Christian values.”

The trailer highlights the character of Merlin (played by Tom Sharp), who in the telling of Stephen R. Lawhead is the son of the druid Taliesin and a princess of Atlantis, Charis. The television show follows Lawhead’s books in presenting Merlin as a Christian hero, bridging Britain’s druidic past with its budding Christian heritage.

“Our Merlin in these books and in this series represents a man who is deeply dedicated to his faith, he cares more about his country and the future of mankind than he does for his own safety and security,” Sonnier told The Daily Signal in an interview Wednesday. “He’s willing to risk his entire life in order to make sure that God reigns sovereign over the land.”

Sonnier celebrated Merlin’s rise as “a wonderfully powerful journey,” but noted that the main character is also “human and deeply flawed.”

The series represents a blending of the artistic style of Medieval fantasy such as “The Lord of the Rings” and “Game of Thrones” with a complex Christian message.

“In my opinion, this is the first major series from a conservative media company that is competitive with anything that is coming out of mainstream Hollywood,” Sonnier said. “We certainly had a nice budget, but we did not have the budget of ‘Game of Thrones.'”

He also emphasized that The Daily Wire produced the series independently from Hollywood, casting actors who had not previously been discovered.

“To discover Tom Sharp off of a casting tape that was self-submitted without an agent, direct to us, and to find a future movie star out of nowhere is such a cool thing,” Sonnier recalled.

The trailer shows Merlin (Sharp) as a mystical magician and warrior, slaying foes while helping to forge a united Britain.

The seven-episode series premieres Jan. 22, with news episodes released Thursdays, exclusively on DailyWire+. The Daily Wire’s “All Access” members will be able to watch the first two episodes early—on Christmas Day.

Lawhead’s “Pendragon Cycle” portrays Merlin as the son of the British bard Taliesin. Taliesin marries Charis, an exile princess from the lost kingdom of Atlantis. Lawhead’s version of Atlantis takes inspiration from the Minoan civilization on Crete, and The Daily Wire version has taken great pains to capture the strengths of the book series, especially filming arresting scenes of Charis dancing with bulls in Atlantis.

Sonnier highlighted the “authenticity” of the show, including live filming with live bulls.

“Several characters jump over live bulls—there is no CGI involved in the jumping of the bulls,” he noted. “Those are real humans jumping over real bulls.”

The book series places the story of Merlin and King Arthur in the 500s and 600s A.D., with Christianity rising in pagan Britain. The show will lean in on the Christian elements of Arthurian myth, elements that Hollywood often overlooks or ignores.

“This show is going to be very true to the books, very true to the message of the books,” Sonnier explained. “We do not undermine any of the Christian principles, this is a family-friendly show. I think the audience is really going to get a kick out of this.”

“We had to make sure it was the best cinematography, the best writing, the best directing, the best acting—this is the beauty of the intersection of great art and Christian values,” he added.

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