Series is set in 43 AD as the Romans seek to crush the Celts in Britain
Amazon Prime Video in the U.S. and European pay-TV company Sky are partnering on a major original drama series, “Britannia,” the first co-production between the companies. The 10-part series has been written by Jez Butterworth, whose stage play “Jerusalem” won a Tony for Mark Rylance, and whose movie credits include “Spectre,” Johnny Depp’s “Black Mass” and Tom Cruise’s “Edge of Tomorrow.”
The series will star Kelly Reilly (“True Detective,” “Sherlock Holmes,” “Bastille Day”), David Morrissey (“The Walking Dead,” “The Hollow Crown”), Zoe Wanamaker (“Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” “My Family”) and Stanley Weber (“Outlander”).
The show is set in AD 43 “as the Roman imperial army returns to crush the Celtic heart of Britannia — a mysterious land ruled by wild warrior women and powerful druids who can channel the powerful forces of the underworld,” according to a press statement. “Arch-rivals Kerra (Reilly) and Antedia (Wanamaker) must set their differences to one side in order to combat the terrifying Roman invasion, led by the towering figure of Aulus Plautius (Morrissey), as it cuts a swath through the Celtic resistance.”
Butterworth said: “Besides being hard, hard warriors, the Celts have a belief system which makes them almost invincible. It’s a deep, heavy magic. Last time the Romans tried to invade, the mighty Julius Caesar took one look, turned round and went straight home. Now, almost a century later, the Romans are back.”
He added: “Here we have a war between two pantheons — the Roman gods vs. the Celtic gods….And we see it all from a human perspective, of individual survival, ambition, courage, lust, loss, revenge.”
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