The Pendragon Cycle is a series of historical fantasy books based on Arthurian legend, written by Stephen R. Lawhead. The cycle was originally planned as a four-book series, but the original publisher opted to stop after the first three books, resulting in an abrupt ending to Arthur and the existence of many unexplored stories and plotlines. The first three books were thus originally called "The Pendragon Trilogy". Lawhead moved to a new publisher a few years later. It was decided to expand on the trilogy by finishing the series, and two additional books were planned. These books, Pendragon and Grail, are interquels that take place in between events covered in Arthur. Lawhead later wrote a final book Avalon, which is not considered to be a true addition to the cycle but rather a "related semi-sequel" to round out the "Once and Future King" aspect of the legend.^{[citation needed]} The film and television rights to the series were purchased by DailyWire+ in November 2022.^[1]

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The series is a work of fiction that takes place in the 5th and 6th centuries and attempts to present the Arthurian legends in a historical setting while presenting the story with a reality the reader can connect with. Lawhead bases his stories on the Mabinogion, the History of the Kings of Britain and other works of Geoffrey of Monmouth, the writings of Taliesin, Gildas, and Nennius, and several other legends that he manages to interweave into the Arthurian legend.

The books, with the exception of Taliesin and Avalon, are narrated in the first-person, and, except for Pendragon, Grail, and Avalon, are each split into three sections (Pendragon has four, Grail one, and Avalon five). Merlin and Pendragon are narrated by Myrddin (Merlin). The first third of Arthur is narrated by Pelleas, the second by Bedwyr (Bedivere), and the third by Aneirin/Gildas. Grail is mostly narrated by Gwalchavad (Galahad), with a short narration by Morgian (Morgan le Fay) at the beginning of most chapters. Taliesin follows Taliesin and Charis (the Lady of the Lake), alternating in each chapter; Avalon mostly follows James Stuart (the reborn Arthur), Merlin, and the fictional Prime Minister Thomas Waring.

• Taliesin (1987)
• Merlin (1988)
• Arthur (1989)
• Pendragon (1994)
• Grail (1997)
• Avalon (1999)

The series proceeds as told in the following descriptions:

Many historical personas (some already included in the Arthurian legend) exist in the cycle, alongside less "factual" characters: Taliesin, Magnus Maximus, Theodosius, Ambrosius Aurelianus, Vortigern, Constantine III, Myrddin Wyllt, Clovis I, Gwyddno Garanhir, Elffin ap Gwyddno, Horsa, Hengest, Cerdic, Aelle, Gildas, and Aneirin (in the series, it is revealed that the last two are the same person; born with the name Aneirin, he changes it to Gildas after Arthur's death).

A listing of the locations and place names used in the series, and their modern equivalents (see also List of Roman place names in Britain):

In November 2022, The Daily Wire announced its intention to produce an adaptation of the series.^[2]

In July 2023, it was announced that The Daily Wire CEO Jeremy Boreing would be taking a leave of absence from the company, to co-direct the seven-episode television series. Additionally, it was revealed that the series would film in Italy and Hungary, and would premiere on DailyWire+ in 2024.^[3] In September, British actor Tom Sharp was announced to have been in the series' lead role as Merlin, as filming began in Europe.^[4] Later that month, the series' main cast was revealed, which includes Brett Cooper as Ganieda, Rose Reid as Charis and James Arden as Taliesin.^[5]