‘Love & Monsters’ director Michael Matthews gears up to helm Disney’s ‘Merlin’

Fresh off his success of Love and Monsters, director Michael Matthews is now gearing up to helm Disney’s Merlin. The film will be an adaptation of the novel series by T.A. Barron by the same name, which sees King Arthur’s wizardry mentor in the forefront of the plot. Reports by Deadline state that the film is still in the stages of early development with Disney’s live-action team.

Love & Monsters director to helm Disney’s Merlin

Michael Matthews, who is currently basking in the success of his most recent release, Love and Monsters is gearing up for his next project. The director will get back into the director's chair for Disney’s Merlin, which was initially meant to be directed by Ridley Scott. Scott helmed the 20th Century much-awaited film, The Last Duel, but had to back out of the opportunity owing to his busy schedule.

T.A. Barron's novel series revolved around the origin of a young Merlin, who later set out to become the mentor of King Arthur. There have been several films and shows that focused on the story of Merlin, but the one that struck a chord was the NCB miniseries, starring Sam Neill. Chris Weitz will be the writer of the upcoming Michael Matthews directorial, while Gil Netter will be the producer.

Michael Matthews' films

Matthews adventure film, Love and Monsters was a major hit among fans. The film saw Dylan O'Brien, Jessica Henwick, Michael Rooker, Dan Ewing and Ariana Greenblatt take on lead roles. The film followed Joel, who survived the monster apocalypse and seven years later left his bunked on a mission to reunite with his ex.

The director also helmed Five Fingers for Marseilles, which followed the life of one of the members of Five Fingers, who returned to colonial Marseilles, only to find out that the two was under a new threat. The film saw Zethu Dlomo, Vuyo Dabula, Hamilton Dhlamini and others in pivotal roles. Matthews also directed Apocalypse Now Now, a fantasy sci-fi film, which released in 2017. The film was all about Baxter Zevcenko, whose girlfriend goes missing, and he becomes the prime suspect in the case. 

Image: Instagram/@michael_t_matthews, @boundingcloud