Series 4



Series 4
Series 4 of Merlin will air in autumn 2011. Its air date is not yet known. The series was originally cut to ten episodes from the previous series' 13 due to financial issues. It was deemed better to reduce the length of the series and maintain the quality rather than staying with 13 episodes but having to reduce the budget and therefor the quality for each. It was also originally rumored to air in early 2012, later than its usual slot in autumn so that it wouldn't clash with Autumn half of Doctor Who Series 6 running in the same period. However, Johnny Capps revealed on 18 March 2011 that the show has been increased to its original 13 episodes, opening with a two-parter. Filming started in mid-March 2011. Block 1 at Pierrefonds finished May 20th and the cast and crew should return to France for Block 2, starting June 20th and continuing until June 24th. This season is said to be darker and mature than the rest, with the other three having a few violent scenes, and this one having much more. Most characters will show a darker side to their personality. A trailer's sneak peak has been aired. Colin Morgan has revealed that Merlin series 4 will air in September or October 2011.

Official Trailer shown at Comic-Con: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjVsDiHbS64

Rumours

 * .Revival of the witch will take place a year after The coming of Arthur. This has been confirmed.
 * Nathaniel Parker will play Arthur's uncle, Agravaine. This has been confirmed.
 * Arthur will become either King or Prince Regent. This has been confirmed.
 * Morgause will be revived by Morgana and will return. This has been confirmed.
 * Nimueh will be revived by Morgause and will return.
 * Freya will return. This is likely . 
 * Morgana will return. This has been confirmed.
 * Morgana and Morgause will form an alliance with King Alined. This has been confirmed.
 * Merlin will be injured. This has been confirmed.
 * Morgana will have somewhat of a reluctant romance, hinted to be Leon. It is more likely to be Gwaine, due to an Eoin Macken interview. At SDCC Katie McGrath says "Morgana hasn't got time, but if you could find me a nice man ,that's okay too." Morgana does not at the moment have a romance
 * Mordred will return. This has been confirmed. 
 * Uther will die. 
 * Excalibur will make an appearance. This has been confirmed. 
 * Gwaine will be the second knight out of The Knights of the Round Table to find out about Merlins secret.
 * Gwen and Arthur will get married. This has been confirmed.
 * Grettir will make an appearance. This has been confirmed. 
 * Merlin will show a darker and damaged side to his personality. This has been confirmed.
 * Merlin is badly injured and Arthur defies Leon to save him. This has been confirmed.
 * Merlin will disguise as Dragoon the Great (Old Merlin) again. This has been confirmed.
 * The Isle of the Blessed will reappear. This has been confirmed.
 * Gwen has been looking after the King. This has been confirmed.
 * Nimueh will return. Her profile on the BBC implies this, but has been there throught Series 2 and 3.
 * Morgause kills Gaius. This is possibly unlikely because in the Queen of Hearts, Gaius was shown in Morgana's vision when Gwen was crowned Queen by Arthur, showing that Gaius will live on to Arthur's reign.
 * Somebody is going to be burnt at the stake. This has been confirmed. 
 * A sword will be burned near the start of the series. This has been confirmed.
 * Entertainers arrive in Camelot. This has been confirmed.
 * Sidhe's will appear.
 * Arthur will learn the truth of his birth again. This has been confirmed.
 * Merlin will reveal his powers. This is possible because it has already been confirmed that Morgana and Gwen will learn of his powers.
 * There will be more Knights of the Round Table. This has been confirmed.
 * Agravaine will be the new enemy within the walls of Camelot. This has been confirmed.
 * Avalon will reappear.
 * Gilli will return and form an alliance with Agravaine. This has been confirmed.
 * Hunith will return. This has been confirmed.
 * Arthurs mother Ygraine will appear (in a vision or flashback). This has been confirmed.
 * Merlin will try to discover his destiny as Emrys, and will find out there are massive reasons why he can't reveal his magic. This has been confirmed.
 * Morgause and Morgana will start looking for Emrys, unaware that he is Merlin. This has been confirmed.
 * Merlin will somehow be stripped of his powers (possibly temporarily). This has been confirmed.
 * Lancelot has a major role in Revival of the Witch. This has been confirmed.
 * The Arther/Gwen/Lancelot love triangle will be a major plot line. This has been confirmed .
 * Lancelot will be declared dead. This has been confirmed.
 * There will be more stories about Uther's past. This has been confirmed.
 * Arthur and Gwen get engaged. This has been confirmed.
 * Morgana will find out Merlin's secret and injure him, to prevent Merlin protecting Arthur and the King. This has been confirmed.
 * Agravaine will be the enemy of the future queen. It is said that there will be many Gwen/Agravaine scenes.
 * Cornelius Sigan's soul will possess another person.
 * Lancelot is not the real Lancelot. This has been confirmed.
 * Mordred and Arthur will meet again.
 * Lancelot will meet the Great Dragon. This has been confirmed.
 * Morgana's magic has finally become as powerful as Merlin's. This has been confirmed.
 * A battle for power will occur between Arthur and Uther. This has been confirmed by Anthony Head at Comic-con 2011.
 * Something devastating will happen to Merlin. This has been confirmed. 
 * Merlin and Gwen will go on a mission together and their friendship will be explored this series. This has been confirmed. 
 * Gwen and Lancelot may be under a love enchantment, causing a fight between Lancelot and Arthur. In the official trailer, Guinevere is shown to be wearing a suspicious bracelet, while kissing Lancelot. What is more Lancelot has a suspicious behaviour, since he attacks Arthur. The most possible is that Agravaine has put a spell on them with Gilli's help causing a fight and trouble.
 * Agravaine, as the Uncle of Arthur and brother of Ygraine, also lays a claim to the throne. This has been confirmed.
 * Morgana becomes quite nomadic, moving from one place to another, she also becomes more powerful than Morgause. This has been confirmed.
 * Morgana constantly has visions of Emrys, unbeknownst to her, it is Merlin disguised as Dragoon the Great. This has been confirmed.
 * Merlin finds his true place in the Court Camelot . This has been confirmed.
 * Merlin will have a new reason to hide his magic before Arthur . This has been confirmed.

Main Cast

 * Colin Morgan as Merlin
 * Bradley James as Arthur Pendragon
 * Katie McGrath as Morgana Pendragon
 * Angel Coulby as Guinevere
 * Anthony Head as Uther Pendragon
 * Richard Wilson as Gaius

Cast to Reappear

 * Rupert Young as Leon
 * Emilia Fox as Morgause
 * John Hurt as the voice of Kilgharrah
 * David Schofield as Alined
 * Laura Donnelly as Freya
 * Santiago Cabrera as Lancelot
 * Tom Hopper as Percival
 * Adetomiwa Edun as Elyan
 * Eoin Macken as Gwaine
 * Caroline Faber as Hunith
 * Asa Butterfield as Mordred
 * Warwick Davis as Grettir
 * Harry Melling as Gilli
 * Michelle Ryan as Nimueh (implied on her BBC profile)
 * Alice Patten as Ygraine Pendragon
 * Georgia Moffett as Lady Vivian

New Cast

 * Phil Davis as The Gleeman
 * Nathaniel Parker as Agravaine
 * Charlenne MacKenna as Lamia
 * Hayley Bishop as Caelia
 * James Callis as TBA
 * Gemma Jones as The Cailleach (gatekeeper to the spirit world)
 * Lindsay Duncan as Queen Annis
 * Zee Asha as Audrey
 * Steven Hartley as King Carleon
 * Emma Tainton as Servant
 * Andrew Fowler as Knight of Camelot
 * Sarah Beck Mather as Vilia
 * Zig Byfield as Goron
 * Anya Beth-Davies as girl (one of the girls who gest saved by Vikings)