If you’re looking for another literary adaptation full of swords and gore while you wait for The Witcher Season 2, Netflix’s latest fantasy series, Cursed, might hit the spot. Created by comic book icon Frank Miller and writer Thomas Wheeler, Cursed is described as a reimagining of the Arthurian legend, told through the eyes of Nimue (Katherine Langford), a young woman with a mysterious gift who is destined to become the powerful and tragic Lady of the Lake. After her mother’s death, she finds an unexpected partner in Arthur (Devon Terrell), a humble mercenary, in a quest to find Merlin (Gustaf Skarsgård) and deliver an ancient sword.
The series, which is being adapted from Wheeler and Miller’s novel of the same name, is described by Wheeler as a “dark fairytale,” interspersed with animated transitions that evoke the pages of a storybook, but with a darker edge, in true Frank Miller style. “It’s like you’ve found the book on your parents’ bookshelf that’s a fairytale book, and you open it up and this one’s spookier than all the rest,” Miller tells IGN.
We’ve got an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at Cursed in the video above and below, as the cast takes us inside this unusual twist on the familiar story of King Arthur. Gustaf Skarsgård, who’s no stranger to bloody battles and legendary characters thanks to his role as Floki on History’s Vikings, praises the show’s expansive and fantastical world-building, which shifts between a more traditional “castle environments; the fae universe, which is divided into different tribes, some with tusks, some with wings; [and] the underworld … We have Viking invaders, we also have the Red Paladins, representing religious zealots. You can walk into this universe and you’re a part of it.”
[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/13/netflixs-cursed-inside-the-world-of-frank-millers-new-fantasy-series”]
Langford, who is headlining her second Netflix series here after her work on 13 Reasons Why, also shares the joy of working with Wheeler and Miller: “Tom and Frank, when you get them together, they are like the biggest, most brilliant nerds,” she says. “It’s so much fun and they do come from a place of genuine love and creativity for these stories.”
Daniel Sharman, who plays the mysterious and deadly villain the Weeping Monk, promises that the series will deliver Miller’s trademark style: “Audiences should expect that real engaging story told with the Frank Miller lens on it, with all the imagination of his vision.”
Season 1 of Cursed will be released Friday, July 17 on Netflix worldwide. Check out the first images from the show in the photo gallery below.
[widget path=”global/article/imagegallery” parameters=”albumSlug=cursed-season-1-gallery&captions=true”]
Source: IGN.com Netflix's Cursed Is a 'Dark Fairytale' Told Through a Frank Miller Lens