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.