Netflix has released a first teaser for its upcoming adaptation of Dutch author Tonke Dragt’s 1962 fantasy novel The Letter for the King. Starring Lord of the Rings’ Andy Serkis, and His Dark Materials‘ Amir Wilson, the fantasy series certainly comes with some Lord of the Rings vibes.
Just take a look at the teaser trailer.
Dragt originally published the novel in Dutch (De brief voor de koning) in 1962, and the first English adaptation arrived in 2014. Netflix picked up the project in 2018, with How To Train Your Dragon’s Will Davies adapting the novel. The novel has been adapted before: in 2008, Pieter Verhoeff directed a Dutch adaptation, which starred Yannick van de Velde as Tiuri.
Set in a fantasy medieval world, the novel follows a young squire named Tiuri, who is about to become a knight. When an old man asks him to deliver a letter to a knight, he finds himself on an unexpected and dangerous adventure across his kingdom to confront a growing evil.
Wilson will play Tiuri, while Serkis will play the Mayor of Mistrinaut, the leader of a “once-mighty trading hub that’s fallen on hard times.” Serkis’s daughter Ruby will also star in the series as the mayor’s daughter Lavinia, according to Entertainment Weekly.
The teaser looks an awful lot like Netflix’s attempt to usurp Amazon and its own upcoming Lord of the Rings series. It was shot in New Zealand (honestly, where else would you shoot a high fantasy project these days? Aside from Eastern Europe and Ireland, that is) and the teaser’s opening monologue reminds me more than a little of the opening moments of Peter Jackson’s Fellowship of the Ring.
The series is set to debut on March 20th on Netflix.
A truly cringe-worthy trailer. – here’s hoping the series is better!
Not seeing the similarity. No wizards, elves, dragons, dwarves, hobbits, Gollums, Nazgul, magic….
Granted, it’s been about 15 years since I have read the book, but I don’t recognize anything from the trailer. The book’s narrative is very tighly focused on Tiuri, I would hate if the show were to change that in favour of a generic war story.
Really, I think I’ll pass…
So all fantast with a northern medevil European vibe all looks the same?
For thousands of years? lol
This is a new level of hate.
So thay started war in stone age?
Seriously – why don’t producers listen to their voices before casting them? I’d rather chew on tin-foil than listen to that narrator again.
I’ve read the book only few years back (after looking for it for many years in bookshops and libraries, because the other Tonke Dragt’s book I’ve read (sci-fi) is one of my favourites. I… didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would, simply because it’s… not even YA, it’s fantasy for children. So this seems all wrong. It’s no LOTR, it’s more like The Hobbit. But I’ll probably watch it anyway…