‘The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin’ Trailer Debuts with Epic Action and Stunning Visuals
The Daily Wire is stepping into the world of scripted fantasy with its new series, The Pendragon Cycle, set to premiere on DailyWire+ on January 22.
The show, based on Stephen R. Lawhead’s popular novels, is the company’s biggest television project so far, expanding its focus from documentaries and films into large-scale fantasy storytelling.
The Official Trailer for The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin is here.
— Jeremy Boreing (@JeremyDBoreing) November 20, 2025
I love this trailer because you have a chance to see so much more of Tom Sharp as Merlin.
Tom came to us an unknown actor, but somehow he found the strength to carry the entire show on his shoulders. I… pic.twitter.com/L40bo4H0ZG
The series was first announced in November 2022, after The Daily Wire acquired the film and television rights to Lawhead’s books. In July 2023, co-founder and co-CEO Jeremy Boreing said he would take a leave of absence to co-direct the seven-episode series. Filming took place in Europe, primarily in Italy and Hungary, starting in September 2023.
British actor Tom Sharp stars as Merlin, with Brett Cooper playing Ganieda, Rose Reid as Charis, and James Arden as Taliesin. Other actors in the series include Finney Cassidy, Myles Clohessy, Alex Laurence Phillips, Daniel Fathers, and Emree Franklin.
The Pendragon Cycle novels draw from Arthurian legend, blending history with fantasy. The series was originally planned as four books, but the publisher stopped after the first three, called The Pendragon Trilogy. Lawhead later expanded the story with two more books, Pendragon and Grail, which fill in events between the earlier books.
The story continues with Avalon, set centuries later, and a seventh book, Aurelia, released in January 2025. The novels retell Arthurian legend in Roman-dominated Britain, covering the fourth to sixth centuries.
Boreing spoke about the adaptation, saying, “The Pendragon Cycle is the culmination of a 10-year vision to create culture, not just to criticize it. Lawhead’s novels present a visceral, masculine Christianity in a world of conflict and mystery.”
He added, “It isn’t saccharine or clean. In short, it is very much like our world. I’m so happy to share our adaptation, and the work of our remarkable cast and crew, with the Daily Wire audience.”
This series marks a significant step for The Daily Wire, co-founded by Boreing and Ben Shapiro, into ambitious scripted television. While the company has produced films and animated series before, The Pendragon Cycle is its most ambitious project yet.
Turning a detailed and faith-driven fantasy world into a TV show is a big challenge, and audiences will soon see how the adaptation brings Lawhead’s world to life.
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