‘Barbaric’: Patrick Stewart, Sam Claflin to Star in Netflix Series Adaption!!

Netflix has had its fair share of successful comic book adaptations in recent memory, and now the platform is going back to the well with a new series based on the best-selling Vault comic, Barbaric. The streamer has already secured some big-name talent to headline the project too, with Daisy Jones and the Six star Sam Claflin set to star and executive produce with the legendary Patrick Stewart in line as his co-star. Michael Bay is also in talks to direct the gonzo new series from a script penned by Oscar-nominated Up in the Air writer Sheldon Turner. A+E Studios will team with Turner and Jennifer Klein’s studio-based 100% Productions to produce.

Barbaric is a relative newcomer to the comic scene – created by writer Michael Moreci and artist Nathan Gooden and released in 2021 – but it has already earned heaps of praise in that time. Described by sources close to the project as Deadpool meets Game of Thrones for its hyper-violent yet humorous nature, it takes place in a Medieval fantasy world where a barbarian named Owen (Claflin) sets out to face a great evil with help from his horny, bloodthirsty talking Axe (Stewart). Owen is afflicted with a curse that forces him to do good for the rest of his life, dooming him to (begrudgingly) come to the assistance of anyone in need of aid when the moment arises. Humor and chaos are in store when he and Axe, who acts as his moral compass, are dragged into saving the day.

When talks are finalized, the new series will mark the first-ever television outing for Bay, yet the project would be one befitting his blockbuster style. He’s been at the helm for some of the biggest actioners of the past few decades, from the acclaimed The Rock to the first two Bad Boys films, and the Transformers franchise. This technically won’t be his first collaboration with Turner, as they both previously worked on The Amityville Horror together, though this is the first time Bay will be directing from Turner‘s work. Though he hasn’t been as active with the pen lately, Turner has a few major writing credits including on The Longest Yard and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, as well as a story by credit on X-Men: First Class.

‘Barbaric’s Stars Are Both Coming Off of Major Projects

Claflin and Stewart have only worked together once before as co-stars aboard 2019’s Charlie’s Angels, though Barbaric will give them plenty more time to banter with each other. The series is yet another television credit for Claflin, who scored a Golden Globe nomination for his role as Billy Dunne in Daisy Jones & The Six last year and is set for major roles in Lazarus and The Count of Monte Cristo next on the small screen. Stewart, meanwhile, is hot off of the massively successful finale of Star Trek: Picard, closing the book once again on his beloved captain. He’s heavily expected to reprise another fan-favorite role of his soon too – Professor X in Deadpool & Wolverine – which he’s teased plenty.