Netflix Fantasy Drama 'Cursed' Will Put Feminist Spin on Arthurian Legend

The story of King Arthur can vary widely depending on which version of it you read. But there are some things that are constant - a wizard named Merlin, a Round Table, and Arthur's possession of a magical and powerful sword known as Excalibur. In some versions of this story - thanks for this, T.H. White - Arthur pulls the sword from a stone, but in most he acquires it from a mysterious woman named Nimue, who is better known as the Lady of the Lake.

Despite the fact that this woman is a key piece of Arthur's rise to power (and Merlin's fall from it, in many stories), she's generally depicted as more magical creature than real person, and given next to zero agency or choice in anything that happens to her or her kingdom. Look, Arthurian legend is messy and often not particularly feminist. (Sorry about literally everything, Guinevere.)

But, happily, Netflix is here to try and change that with Cursed, an adaptation based on an illustrated YA graphic novel from author Tom Wheeler and illustrated by Frank Miller that finally decides to tell the story of the woman who gave Arthur the sword that changed his life. The streaming service has released its first batch of photos from the upcoming fantasy series and it sort of looks like the general vibe they were going for is a sort of The Hunger Games meets Lord of the Rings feel.