Series 5

BBC Series 5 will be the fifth series of the highly popular drama/cult series, Merlin. It has been officially commissioned by the BBC, due to popularity and anticipation. This was confirmed 24 July 2011 by Julian Murphy and Johnny Capps. Filming began on 12th March 2012 in Cardiff, Wales and Pierrefonds, France. 13 episodes have been ordered. The show will air on BBC One for the UK viewers, Network Ten for the Australian viewers, and on SyFy for US viewers.

The fifth series will air on the 6th of October, 2012, with an opening two-parter, called Arthur's Bane. This would mean that it will be shown in the UK at the same time as Doctor Who's seventh series. It's set to air 14th of October on Network Ten and it's expected to air in January 2013 for US viewers on SyFy.

Official Trailers












Confirmed Information

 * Dragons will be more involved in the major plot line. The producers are playing with the ideas of the two battling dragons, the red one and the white one, with their own twist.
 * Morgana is growing into a stronger and more committed enemy than ever before. The stakes are becoming higher now that Arthur is king and the future of Albion is being created, there's more for Merlin to fight for and more for him to protect so as he gets older, he's tested as a character because everything in the world becomes more serious.
 * Series 5 is going to be darker. An older and wiser Merlin will struggle between making some very difficult decisions and trying to tread a very careful path between what is good and what is bad.
 * "The length of Merlin is all about whether the audience are enjoying it. If they still enjoy the series we'll keep making it, but we will absolutely wrap it up properly when it does come to an end".
 * An action fight will be seen in a quarry.
 * Merlin's hair and clothes will be the same. The producers have argued that it's his trademark clothes, what he's known by.
 * Guinevere will play a very different role, now that she is queen.
 * The cast were seen filming in the Clearwell Caves, which is the place where Agravaine died.
 * Mithian will return.
 * Morgana may have power over Aithusa.
 * Series 5 won't have as many guest roles, due to last season, the guest roles cut off a lot the screentime for the main cast.
 * Mithian witnesses someone being stabbed with a sword and escapes falling rubble, running to a wizard (Possibly Merlin).
 * Two of these legends will be referenced in Series 5.
 * James Fox, Emilia Fox's (Morgause) uncle, seems to have cast for Series 5.
 * Mithian remains a princess in Series 5.
 * Series 5 involves a lot of "out of the castle" scenes. And apparently, it doesn't mean less of Gaius and Gwen.
 * Mithian will meet Morgana.
 * Ashley Way will return to direct episodes 7-9.
 * Arthur, along with Merlin, will prevent an execution at a village. Arthur wil approach the pyre (while drums are being played) and interrupt the execution at sword point. The woman who was going to be executed will later be seen around a campfire with Arthur and Merlin.
 * One scene will involve Gwaine running through a forest in the sun, wearing chainmail.
 * Block 2 (Episodes 4, 5, 6) will contain filming in the Clearwell Caves.
 * Mordred will be somewhat of a Knight, but not an official one. He is likely to be a "trainee" of some kind.
 * James Robinson will play "Sir Ranulf".
 * Morgana will disguise herself as an old woman. She appears to be using the ageing spell Morgause used in The Eye of the Phoenix and/or the one Merlin uses when disguising as Dragoon.
 * Odin will be referenced and his men will appear.
 * Mordred will not be referenced as "Sir Mordred".
 * Old Merlin, or Dragoon the Great, will return.
 * For the first time all of the show's computer generated effects will be created entirely in-house.
 * Katie McGrath (Morgana) referred to Aithusa as a female.
 * Colin revealed in the same interview there will be a three-year gap between Series 4 and Series 5.
 * Uther will return in some way.
 * Merlin struggles with the temptation of dark magic, particularly in relation to his telepathy with Mordred.
 * Gwen will meet Morgana again and they will fight.
 * The tagline for this series is "The Die is Cast".
 * The Dochraid will return, as she was seen and heard in the trailer.
 * The Dochraid casts a spell.
 * Merlin feels betrayed because Aithusa chose Morgana instead of him.
 * The Valley of the Fallen Kings will re-appear.
 * "Merlin is becoming more ruthless, because he is becoming more solid in his beliefs", Merlin will see things in a whole new way.
 * Uther was almost going to be brought back at the end of Series 4 but the writers decided he could fit better in a story in Series 5. Uther will return for one episode.
 * Johnny Capps confirmed that Merlin will have a few interesting things romantically, but not much as the focus is on protecting Arthur.
 * The writing team remains the same as last year, but Series 5 will see more multi-stranded stories, which means they won't be told from just the point of view of Merlin. The producers think this will make the story feel more grown up and fresh.
 * There won't be any more comedy episodes like Goblin's Gold, but the producers say the element of comedy and the "Jeeves and Wooster" relationship between the main characters will still be an important part.
 * The new character, "Eira", will make an appearance in the finale.
 * Merlin and Gwen's relationship will be tested at some point.
 * The Lake of Avalon will reappear.
 * A new character, "Valdis", is set to appear in the third episode of Series 5.
 * The gallows will reappear.
 * The whole point of Mordred in the series is "What's he going to do? Why is he here?" People will not know why he is there and what his motives are. People think he's coming in to do the double act with Morgana, but it's more complicated than that. He is ambiguous.
 * The stakes will be higher, in terms of enemies- it's a 'war, not a battle, so it's a lot more serious'.
 * The person behind Morgana's captivity is a 'bandit king'.
 * The first two episodes will be called 'Arthur's Bane'.
 * A preview synopsis for Series 5 premiere has been released.
 * Gwen will face a "very, very" difficult decision to make in the first two-parter episode, it will symbolise how Gwen binds into her new position as queen of Camelot.
 * Mordred may expose Merlin's secret to Arthur.
 * Mordred is a complex character this series, he is ambiguous. He has the chance to dish out information to Morgana about the peers in Camelot or he can keep it safe. It all relies on how he communicates with everyone.
 * Mordred may want the royal throne to himself and betray both Arthur and Morgana.
 * Morgana is a constant threat towards Gwen.
 * There is someone who will protect Gwen when Arthur is gone to battle we will meet the person this season.
 * The Battle of Camlann (battle from Morgana's dream in The Darkest Hour) is said to take place this series.
 * There will be no conflict between the Knights this series.
 * Eoin Macken stated his character Sir Gwaine would not react to a serious extent if he discovered Merlin had magic. Which indicates that Gwaine may discover Merlin's magic.
 * Merlin will have few scenes with Ruadan.
 * On the way to Arthur's journey to the Northern Plains in Arthur's Bane, he takes a path through Queen Annis' kingdom.
 * Mordred's return to Camelot will surprise the fans in a way we weren't expecting.
 * Arthur gets wounded in the Northern Plains.
 * Mordred will not use his magic in the castle of Camelot.
 * Aithusa blows fire.
 * 'Arthur's Bane' is somewhat at least relevant to Mordred, it is unknown at this point if it is Mordred.
 * Alator, played by Gary Lewis, will return.
 * Bradley James (Arthur) has confirmed in an interview that Arthur is well ready to find out that Merlin is a sorcerer. He also stated the dynamic of the series is evolved around this and the creators are probably holding onto the reveal until the end as a tease. "I hope they don't hold on to it too much longer." said Bradley James.

Main Cast

 * Merlin – Colin Morgan
 * King Arthur Pendragon – Bradley James
 * Morgana Pendragon – Katie McGrath
 * Queen Guinevere Pendragon – Angel Coulby
 * Gaius – Richard Wilson
 * Sir Gwaine – Eoin Macken
 * Sir Leon – Rupert Young
 * Sir Percival – Tom Hopper
 * Sir Elyan – Adetomiwa Edun

Recurring Cast

 * Mordred – Alexander Vlahos
 * Kilgharrah, the Great Dragon – John Hurt
 * Aithusa – Unknown Voice
 * Queen Annis – Lindsay Duncan
 * Mithian – Janet Montgomery
 * Uther Pendragon – Anthony Head
 * Dochraid – Maureen Carr
 * Alator - Gary Lewis

Guest Cast

 * Ragnor – Stephen McCole
 * Saxon – Matthew Prowse
 * Sir Ranulf – James Robinson
 * Unknown Character – Ross Machin
 * ​Ruadan – Liam Cunningham
 * King Rodor – James Fox
 * Daegal – Alfie Stewart
 * Tyr Seward – John Bradley
 * Lochru – Julian Glover
 * Eira – Erin Richards
 * Sindri – Tony Guilfoyle
 * Ari – Peter Guinness
 * Queen Mab - Kelly Wenham
 * Valdis - Jane Thorne
 * Sefa - Sophie Rundle
 * The Euchdag - Josette Simon
 * Beroun - Barry Aird
 * Disir - Frances Tomelty
 * Unknown Character - Sara Lois
 * Alrick - Gordon Munro

Cast Notes

 * For a page of villains that may return, just click here.
 * There is a small chance that Alvarr's voice was heard in the bad quality Series 5 trailer, although most would differ and say that it was Liam Cunningham's character.
 * Liam Cunningham has strongly hinted acting a corpse in Merlin, and meeting Richard Wilson.
 * Uther will cast as a shadow, he will still be an influence.
 * Alexander Vlahos indicated via Twitter that he will be replacing Nathaniel Parker as a main credited cast member.