‘The Winter King’ trailer: TV series adapts Bernard Cornwell novel
The highly-anticipated new adaptation of The Winter King premieres in the UK soon!
Blending historical fiction with Arthurian mythology, Bernard Cornwell‘s 1995 book is the first part of his Warlord Chronicles trilogy.
The television series was first announced back in April 2020, coming from the team behind the BBC and HBO’s His Dark Materials adaptation.
Filming wrapped in Bristol, England and South Wales earlier this year.
Cornwell’s novel has been adapted by writers Kate Brooke (A Discovery of Witches) and Ed Whitmore (Silent Witness).
Set in the fifth century – long before Britain was united, in a brutal land of warring factions and tribes, where lives were often fleeting – The Winter King follows Arthur Pendragon as he evolves from outcast to legendary warrior and leader.
The show is described by ITV as “a bold and revisionist take on well-loved Arthurian legends.”
Leading the cast as Arthur Pendragon is Iain De Caestecker (The Control Room), evolving the character from outcast to legendary warrior and leader.
He’s joined by Eddie Marsan (The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe) as High King Uther, Ellie James (I May Destroy You) as Nimue, Nathaniel Martello-White (Small Axe) as Merlin, and Stuart Campbell (SAS Rogue Heroes) as Derfel.
Daniel Ings (The Crown) is playing Owain, with Valene Kane (The Fall) as Morgan, Jordan Alexandra (Mammals) as Guinevere, and Simon Merrells (Good Omens) as Gundleus.
The ensemble cast also includes Steven Elder (A Spy Among Friends) as Bishop Bedwin, Andrew Gower (Outlander) as Sansum, Aneirin Hughes (Keeping Faith) as Gorfydd, Emily John (My Policeman) as Ceinwyn, Tatjana Nardone (Devils) as Ladwyss, Ken Nwosu (Killing Eve) as Sagramor, and Billy Postlethwaite (The Great) as Cadwys.
When’s the release date?
The Winter King is set to debut in the UK this winter on ITVX.
All ten episodes are already streaming in the US on MGM+ following the show’s stateside launch last month.
American viewers can watch the show with this free 7-day MGM+ trial!
Watch the trailer here:
Praising “the caliber of its exceptional cast” in its review, IGN has called the series “gory, talky, and drenched in political and religious intrigue, which makes it a worthy cousin to Game of Thrones.”
The Hollywood Reporter wasn’t quite as convinced, saying that “the new series is not without charms, chief among them a solid core cast … but a rocky start is bound to lose some potential fans before they get to them.”
Bernard Cornwell’s The Warlord Chronicles novels are available on Amazon.