Medieval-style fantasy continues be a hot genre for streamers looking to cast spells on viewers.
At its Upfronts, Netflix announced it has greenlit Barbaric, a fantasy drama based on the hit Vault Comics title of the same name.
Created by Mike Moreci and Nathan Gooden, Barbaric centers on a ruthless and crass barbarian who is cursed to only use his violence for good, which sends him, his talking axe and a young witch, on a road of self-discovery, redemption and revenge.
Academy Award nominee Sheldon Turner (Up In The Air, X-Men First Class) will co-showrun and write the series along with Robert Rovner, who is best known for his showrunning and writing work on CW series Supergirl.
Also on the exec producing team are Jennifer Klein, Turner’s partner at the duo’s 100% Productions, Barry Jossen and Tana Jamieson for A+E Studios, TV veteran Javier Grillo-Marxuach (Lost, The Witcher), and F.J. DeSanto and Damian Wassel for Vault Comics. Actor Sam Claflin (Me Before You, Peaky Blinders), along with Luke Carroll, and Michael Stevenson, are exec producing via Soft Claw Productions.
Not mentioned in Wednesday’s announcement are the incoming talent deals featuring Michael Bay as director, and Claflin and Patrick Stewart as the stars. The trio have been involved with Barbaric since it was first revealed that Netflix was developing the project in 2024.
Launched in 2021, Vault’s Barbaric proved to be a surprise, massive hit for the indie publisher, founded by Wassel, with the comics collected into volumes and selling well over 600,000 units, per the publisher. It has been translated into six languages and launched a spin-off series, Queen of Swords, as well as various one-shots.
Barbaric Comic Book Cover
Courtesy of Vault Comics
Medieval fantasy has proven to be a source of magic for the company. Last year, it launched Big Rig, a Mad Max: Fury Road meets Army of Darkness series created by Post Malone featuring an 18-wheeler and its driver in a demon-laden Dark Ages Europe. Bay and his Platinum Dunes banner are developing it for adaptation.
Fantasy drama has also proven be to a popular genre for Netflix; one of its biggest series was The Witcher, which starred Henry Cavill. And rival Prime Video has bet big on the genre with its expensive The Lord of the Rings series and, as parent company Amazon announced on its Upfronts Monday, an adaptation of fantasy romance universe The Fourth Wing.
Vault, Wassel, and DeSanto are repped by UTA, Industry and Weintraub Tobin. Turner is repped by CAA and Gang Tyre while Rovner is repped CAA, The Shuman Company, and Myman Greenspan.
