First look at “Cursed,” Netflix’s new take on the Arthurian legend

We here at WiC are suckers for anything Arthurian, so we’re excited about Netflix’s Cursed, an original series that puts a twist on the age-old Arthurian legend. Netflix recently dropped the first image of the series, with star Katherine Langford (13 Reasons Why) holding a sword aloft in a lake:

Here’s how Netflix describes the show:

"Cursed is a re-imagining of the Arthurian legend, told through the eyes of Nimue, a teenage heroine 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, a young mercenary, in a quest to find Merlin and deliver an ancient sword. Over the course of her journey, Nimue will become a symbol of courage and rebellion against the terrifying Red Paladins, and their complicit King Uther."

In classic Arthurian lore, the Lady of the Lake is an enigmatic, complicated and sometimes treacherous enchantress who gifts Arthur with the magical sword Excalibur, bewitches Merlin and raises Lancelot after his father’s death. “Nimue” is sometimes the name given to this characters. It depends on the source; legends are slippery like that.

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In Cursed, it look like Nimue will be a more active (and sword-swinging?) presence than she is in the chivalric romances. Hopefully she gets more respect than she got in Monty Python and the Holy Grail:

The series is based on the forthcoming illustrated Young Adult book by Tom Wheeler and Frank Miller. Miller is a pretty big name in nerdom, having written and illustrated major comics like Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City and 300.

Along with Langford as Nimue, the Netflix series also stars Sebastian Armesto (The Terror, Pirates of the Caribbean), Shalom Brune-Franklin (Bad Mothers) and Gustaf Skarsgard (Vikings, Westworld).

Below is the official description of the Cursed book:

"Whosoever wields the Sword of Power shall be the one true King.But what if the Sword has chosen a Queen?Nimue grew up an outcast. Her connection to dark magic made her something to be feared in her Druid village, and that made her desperate to leave…That is, until her entire village is slaughtered by Red Paladins, and Nimue’s fate is forever altered. Charged by her dying mother to reunite an ancient sword with a legendary sorcerer, Nimue is now her people’s only hope. Her mission leaves little room for revenge, but the growing power within her can think of little else.Nimue teams up with a charming mercenary named Arthur and refugee Fey Folk from across England. She wields a sword meant for the one true king, battling paladins and the armies of a corrupt king. She struggles to unite her people, avenge her family, and discover the truth about her destiny.But perhaps the one thing that can change Destiny itself is found at the edge of a blade."

Sounds watchable! Netflix has yet to announce a premiere date for the 10-episode series, but we can probably expect it sometime in 2020.

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