The newest behind-the-scenes look at “The Pendragon Cycle” production diaries — first revealed to Daily Wire members by company co-founder and series director Jeremy Boreing on Thursday — is all about creepy kingdoms, magical objects, and an awe-inspiring sword.
Week 10 of filming saw the cast and crew return to Hungary to capture some interior shots that will feature in the series. First up, director Ryan Whitaker introduced a “magical object” called the Lia Fáil, upon which the king of Scotland was traditionally crowned. Whitaker explained that the stone “can be used for good or for evil” and is mainly used for nefarious purposes in the series.
The production diary also offers fans a glimpse of several set backgrounds, including Charis’s chambers and locations in the Orkney Islands, which is a real place north of Scotland.
“In the world of the show, and in the world of this story, it’s a very sort of remote, barren place,” Whitaker explains of the locale. “Very creepy. There is some contention here within the walls of Caer Loth.”
“Old, gloomy atmosphere here in Caer Loth,” the director reiterates. “There’s some very dark things happening within these walls.”
Boreing says some of the scenes being shot during week 10 are ones he’s been looking forward to “since the writing process first began.”
“Really getting these emotional moments between both Taliesin and Charis and then Merlin and Charis. These sort of twin scenes that take place in Charis’s chambers when she offers each of the two important men in her life the great sword, the fisher king sword,” he says.
“One of the really powerful and important statements that the film makes about power and the relationship that our heroes have to power. But because the sword was crafted in Atlantis, because it was crafted of materials and through techniques that have been lost to the sea, it’s unique in all of the world,” Boreing adds. “It’s truly an almost indestructible blade and it represents kingship and authority. It represents the deep past and the hope of the future, and it represents power.”
The Avallach sword is described as one of the most important props, and the week 10 production diary goes into detail about the consideration and thoughtfulness that went into designing this integral prop. “It was a very long process to develop and make,” propmaster Zoltan Szalkai said. He went on to describe how the pouring and casting techniques were period correct “so the sword reflected the period as much as possible.”
An added challenge Szalkai presented was that the sword had to match all the book descriptions as well.
“It had to be a balancing act between being historically correct but also reflecting on all the artistic features of the show,” he explained.
The behind-the-scenes peek also shows actress Rose Reid, who plays Charis, learning how to properly brandish a sword. She credits her scene partner Arden with helping her learn how to make her sword skills look “very cool” on camera.
The week ends with the crew taking another important sword, the Sword of Britain, into one of the major duels of season one.
Based on the series by acclaimed Christian novelist Stephen R. Lawhead, “The Pendragon Cycle” is a unique retelling of the Arthurian legend, set not in the high Medieval age of knights in shining armor, but in the wake of a Roman-occupied Britain, where the seeds of Christianity are beginning to take root in the face of spiritual and physical darkness. As barbarian invaders threaten to lay claim to the Island of the Mighty, only those with faith in the True God will prevail.
The series is coming later in 2024, exclusively on DailyWire+.
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