Merlin News: New Trailer, Series Five Details

A new preview of what's to come this season!
Merlin is set to return to our screens on BBC1 in less than two months now. The fifth season is on its way, as is a three-year narrative time jump and indeed some major changes for the legend of the Arthurian kingdom of Camelot. You can catch the great full new trailer for Series Five below, with some very exciting-looking developments for the cast and the overarching story elements. Below, first though, are more details on the new series fresh from co-producer Julian Murphy. Without further ado, let the legend begin...

• THE JUMP: "I think this season's probably the biggest sort of change we've ever made to Merlin. We jump three years in time, so we've gone to a world where there is a Round Table, there are the Knights, and an established King and Queen."
• THE ARC & THE TONE: "And then we start to feed in the dark seeds of destruction, that are a part of that very classic story. So it's a bit more adult. It's a bit darker in tone, and it really takes the characters to very new places."
• THE CHARACTERS: "They're older. Gwen is a mature Queen Of Camelot- she is all of that. You see stories where she plays the politics of that role in a very overarching way. Arthur is the King he always dreamt of being. Merlin is stronger, that naievity is gone. He's out there to protect what's been built, and he'll do what it takes to do that. The Knights have bigger parts now. Obviously they're Knights Of The Round Table, so that gives a whole raft of stories we haven't done before."

Expect more details very soon as we lead up to the show's Autumn launch. Merlin returns to BBC1 on September 29th.