#characters through time

[fuckyeaharthuriana]

mordred through time (full post and video) (movies, tv shows, opera and musicals)

This is the condensed video and list!

If you want to watch the single parts (with longer clips) which have a bit more information on each single media, the actor playing Mordred and his role:

Part 1: From 1949 to 1981 -> here Part 2: From 1982 to 2002 -> here Part 3: From 2002 to 2010 -> here Part 4: From 2014 to 2017 -> here Part 5: From 2018 to the present -> here

Long post under cuts. Here I just added the list of media with essential information (color coded: antagonist or protagonist?, Arthur`s son?, does he have a lover?, queer content?).

1949 The Adventures of Sir Galahad: Antagonist, not related to Arthur.

1953 Knights of the Round Table: Antagonist, not related to Arthur. He has a lover (Morgana, who is not his relative either).

1956 The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (s01e03): Mordred assumes the role of Melagant, so he plays the antagonist. Once more, Mordred is not related to Arthur.

1960 Camelot: He plays the part of the antagonist, and notably for the first time he is Arthur’s son (as he is in White's book).

1962 Sword of Lancelot: Mordred is not only the antagonist but also Arthur’s son for the first time in a movie. In the movie he also has a female lover (a new added character).

1967 Camelot: David Hemmings plays Mordred. Same role as the original musical (antagonist and Arthur's son from Morgause).

1974 Lancelot du Lac: Mordred acts like the antagonist. He is not Arthur’s son or relative.

1979 The Legend of King Arthur: An 8 BBC episode tv show that faithfully tries to adapt Morte d'Arthur. Mordred is one of the main antagonist (alongside Morgana), he is Arthur's son.

1979 Unidentified Flying Oddball: Mordred is the antagonist (in the book he is Arthur’s nephew).

1981 Excalibur: Mordred is here Arthur and Morgana’s son for the first time, as in other adaptation Morgause was Mordred’s mother. He plays the antagonist.

1982 Camelot: This is a stage adaptation filmed live of the Broadway musical (so Mordred is antagonist and Arthur's son).

1984 Morte d'Arthur: He is antagonist and Arthur's son.

1985 Merlin and the Sword: Mordred plays the role of Arthur’s son (from Morgana) and a kind of minor comedic fumbling villain and antagonist.

1988 New Adventures of a Yankee in King Arthur’s Court: He is Morgana and Arthur's son and he is killed by Hank in a treacherous duel (Hank shoots him). He plays an almost martyr role instead of the usual antagonist.

1989 A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court: Mordred is a comedic-like antagonist.

1989 Doctor Who Battlefield: Mordred is an antagonist.

1995 Mordred’s song by Blind Guardian: Song about Mordred (from his pov), implied as sympathetic antagonist and he is Arthur's son.

1998 Merlin: Mordred is Morgana and Arthur’s son and the antagonist.

1998 Camelot (animated musical): Mordred is the son of Morgause (not Arthur's sister) and Arthur's son. He is both the antagonist and a redeemed sympathetic character.

1998 Camelot: The Legend: Arthur's son by his siter (through magic) and main antagonist.

2001 The Mists of Avalon: Mordred here appears once more as Morgana’s son, but he is a adopted by Morgause and raised to hate Arthur. He is Arthur's son. Mordred is the main antagonist in the second part.

2002 Justice League: Mordred is a kid, Morgana's son and both are antagonists who use magic.

2002 Merlin the Return: Antagonist Mordred.

2003 Gary Hughes’ album “Once and future king”: The song is “The Hard Way”, one of the two songs sung by Mordred (the other being “Demon Down”). We do not know if Mordred is Arthur’s son but he is the antagonist.

2003 recording of Albeniz’s “Merlin” opera: Mordred is the main antagonist alongside his mother Morgana. I am not sure, but he might be Arthur's son.

2003 Camelot, Papermill Playhouse: The usual Broadway musical (antagonist and Arthur's son).

2005 Camelot, Bad Hersfeld (Germany): The usual Broadway musical (antagonist and Arthur's son).

2007 Perceval (short): Mordred is Arthur's son (and Morgana's) and one of the two main antagonists (the other being Galahad).

2008 Camelot (Live from Lincoln Center): The usual Broadway musical (antagonist and Arthur's son). This is probably the first time we have a Mordred that is so obviously queer coded in his presentation.

2008 Merlin (BBC): This is an instance of a sympathetic turned antagonist Mordred. The show makes a point to explain his reasons. Mordred is not related to Arthur or Morgana. Also, Mordred has a lover in S5 as he is in love with a woman named Kara.

2009 Merlin and the Book of Beasts: Mordred is the antagonist and Arthur’s son. He also kidnaps his half-sister to marry her and continue the Pendragon dynasty.

2010 Avalon High: Mordred is the secret antagonist.

2010 Merlin and Arthur the Lion King: Mordred is a kitten and one of Arthur’s friends, he first betrays Arthur but then changes his mind. This might be one of the few iterations of a completely redeemed Mordred in movies/tv!

2014 High Noon Over Camelot album by The Mechanisms: This is also the first time we have an explicitly queer Mordred (outside of novels), as Mordred is a trans man in this retelling. Another case of a sympathetic Mordred - this time Mordred is more overtly sympathetic and even reconcile with his father Arthur at the end.

2011 recording of Albeniz’s “Merlin”: Another recording of the “Merlin” opera with Mordred as antagonist.

2015 recording of “Le Roi Arthus”: A recording of the Ernest Chausson's opera created between 1886 and 1895. Mordred is an antagonist and in love with Guinevere.

2016 Rex, youtube webseries: Mordred assumes the role of Arthur's jerk friend but he is not a full antagonist. Not related to any other character.

2017 Fate/Apocrypha: Mordred is here a Servant, they are the cloned-son of Saber (Arthur/Arturia, who is a woman) and Morgana. They are a protagonist. They are born as the close of a woman (Saber) and often referred with female pronouns through the series, they hate being called “a girl”, and also hate being called “a boy”. While I do not think the series was making an effort to actually depict a non-binary character, I do believe Mordred can easily be read as one.

2017 King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table: Sympathetic antagonist and Arthur and Morgana's son.

2017 King Arthur: Excalibur Rising: Antagonist and Arthur's son (from Morgana).

2017 Legend, youtube webseries: Mordred (Morty) is the overly joking, friendly guy who is hiding some deep hatred and jealousy towards Arthur (so he is a secret antagonist). Unfortunately I do not remember if Mordred is Arthur’s half-brother or just a friend.

2017 Mordred La Revolte: Unfortunately I cannot really tell how arthurian the series is, but the plot does not mention other arthurian characters. If I am not wrong, la Revolte is simply S2 turned into a movie.

2017 Fate/Grand Order The stage - Divine Realm of the Round Table: Camelot: Part of the Fate saga so protagonist/not-antagonist Mordred, non binary Mordred and they are Arthur's child.

2018 Arthur et les enfants de la Table Ronde: Mordred is Morgause's cousin and not Arthur's son. He plays a comedic antagonist.

2018 The Campaign for Camelot (webseries): Mordred is one of the main protagonists and he is introduced in episode 7. He is Arthur's son. Over the series he also develops a romance with Izzy (Iddawg, from “The Dream of Rhonabwy”). To clarify, in the clip Mordred is the guy without the glasses and the darker shirt! I do not remember if he is gay, pan or bisexual but he is attracted to men and in a relationship with a guy.

2018/2019 OSK’s Knights of the Round Table musical: Mordred is Arthur's son and an antagonist.

2020 Arthur and Merlin: Knights of Camelot: Mordred is Arthur’s son and the main antagonist of the story. He often uses threats of sexual violence towards Guinevere.

2020 Fate/Grand Order the movie: Camelot: Part of the Fate saga so protagonist/not-antagonist Mordred, non binary Mordred and they are Arthur's child.

2021 Fate/Grand Order: The Grand Temple of Time: Part of the Fate saga so protagonist/not-antagonist Mordred, non binary Mordred and they are Arthur's child.

2021 Le Roi Arthus opera: A recording of the Ernest Chausson's opera created between 1886 and 1895. Mordred is an antagonist and in love with Guinevere.

2023 Camelot Revival: The return of the musical Camelot! So as usual Mordred is Arthur's son (from Morgause) and an antagonist.

[fuckyeaharthuriana]

Mordred through time (movies, tv shows, opera and musicals)

Part 1: From 1949 to 1981

Next: Part 2: From 1982 to 2002 Part 3: From 2002 to 2010 Part 4: From 2014 to 2017 Part 5: From 2018 to 2023

Complete list of part 1 media with extra information and some of my thoughs regarding the evolution of Mordred's role:

1949 The Adventures of Sir Galahad: 15 episodes tv show with Galahad as a protagonist and Mordred as the main antagonist. Mordred was played by Leonard Penn, but strangely he is not listed on imdb. In this show Mordred is not Arthur's son or relative, and even Galahad and Lancelot are not related.

1953 Knights of the Round Table: Lancelot-focused movie, where Mordred is one of the main antagonists alongside Morgana. This is another media where Mordred is not related to Arthur, but he is here Morgana's lover. He is played by Stanley Baker.

1956 The Adventures of Sir Lancelot (s01e03): A tv show that narrates the adventures of Lancelot. Each episode is a separate story and in the third episode Mordred assumes the role of Melagant and kidnaps Guinevere. Once more, Mordred is not related to Arthur. He is played by Brian Worth.

1960 Camelot: The Original Broadway Cast Recording: This is the recording of the original cast for the Broadway musical Camelot (based on T. H. White's Once and Future King novel). In this cast Mordred was played by Roddy McDowall. Mordred appears in Act II and has two songs, plus other speaking roles. He mainly plays the part of the antagonist, and notably for the first time he is Arthur's son (as he is in the book). The musical was extremely popular and won numerous awards. I fully believe this was the moment the idea of Mordred as Arthur's relative/son was starting to become mainstream.

1962 Sword of Lancelot: Also known as "Lancelot and Guinevere" this is the first arthurian movie where Mordred is not only the antagonist but also Arthur's son. In the movie he also has a lover, and if I am not wrong this is the last time we see Mordred in a happy relationship or with a lover. He is played by Michael Meacham.

1967 Camelot: To demonstrate the popularity of the Camelot Broadway musical... here is the movie adaptation (with new actors even if the original Guinevere and Arthur were asked to play their roles. Also, David Hemmings plays Mordred). The movie cuts some of the songs, sadly enough all of Mordred's songs and it also cuts the role of Morgana.

1974 Lancelot du Lac: Also known as "Lancelot of the Lake" in English. Patrick Bernhard plays Mordred, and he acts like the antagonist. He is not Arthur's son or relative. Don't ask me anything about this movie, I find it unbearable, just know it focuses on Guinevere and Lancelot and the actor who plays Gawain is extra cute.

1979 The Legend of King Arthur: An 8 BBC episode tv show that faithfully tries to adapt Morte d'Arthur. This is also my favorite arthurian tv show and I am shocked it is not more popular. Mordred is one of the main antagonist (alongside Morgana) and he is played by Steve Hodson.

1979 Unidentified Flying Oddball: This is a bizarre reimagining of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's court and also the first of the numerous Connecticut movies to have Mordred as the antagonist (in the book he is Arthur's nephiew, but I think he is just one of the knights here). Mordred is played by Jim Dale.

1981 Excalibur: This is probably one of the most well known arthurian movies (I will have to check if it is the one which has won the most prizes too) so I won't explain the plot. Just know Mordred is here Arthur and Morgana's son for the first time, as in other adaptation Morgause was Mordred's mother. Charlie Boorman (the director's son) played child Mordred, while Robert Addie played adult Mordred. Two documentaries have been made about the making of the movie: the 1981's The Making of Excalibur and the 2013 Excalibur: Behind the Movie.

[fuckyeaharthuriana]

Morgause through time (movies, tv shows, opera and musicals)

1999 Excalibur kid (played by Francesca Scorsone): My favorite Morgause, here for the first time she is a co-protagonist and the main antagonist of a movie. In this re-interpretation of Connecticut Yankee, Morgause decides to bypass Arthur and use her magic to call a modern day guy into arthurian times, let him take the sword from the stone and become king... much easier to manipulate a fish out of water than Arthur himself! She is quite funny too through the movie. She also can use magic.

2001 The Mists of Avalon (played by Joan Allen): Directly adapted from the novels, Morgause takes the classic role of witch, Arthur's half sister, Morgana's ally and antagonist. In this miniseries, Morgause also raises Mordred like her son, and raises him to be ready to take power from Guinevere and Arthur, back to her family.

2005 Kaamelott (played by Anouk Grinberg as Anna de Tintagel): In Kaamelott, Anna is a very secondary characters who only appears in a few episodes. She is introduced as Arthur's half sister, married to Lot and desiring Arthur's death more than anything else. She seems to have a long term plan to destroy Arthur, and it is not clear if she actually conceived Mordred with him and this will come out in the new movie, or if it was simply a reference to Morte d'arthur.

2008 Merlin (played by Emilia Fox): Morgause is a warrior and magic user, daughter of Gorlois and Vivienne and half sister of Morgana. She appears in the show to tell Arthur and Morgana the truth about Uther's cruelty and their families. Later on, she works alongside Morgana to destroy Uther and conquer Camelot, allowing magic users to finally be free.

2018 Arthur et les enfants de la Table Ronde (voiced by Barbara Scaff in the French original version): Morgause is one of the two Tintagel sisters (the other being Igraine) who are the main antagonists of this animated show. She is kind of goofy and a bit of a lackey to her sister Igraine. Together with their cousin Mordred they want to take power from Uther as they believe themselves the true inheritors of the Pendragon line.

I found it pretty interesting that Morgause was eliminated pretty quickly from arthurian movies. If we look at a chronological list of movies and tv shows (ex. this one) we can see how her role was absorbed by Morgana.

In 1960 we have the musical Camelot (adaptation of White's Oafk) which still retains Morgause as Mordred's mother. Morgause does not appear, but she is mentioned, while Morgana appears in one scene. This is the first time we have Mordred presented as Arthur's relative, and probably the big turnaround that finally allows Mordred to appears in movies as Arthur's illegitime son. In the BBC "The Legend of King Arthur" (1979) Morgause is also Mordred's mother, but does not appear - we have instead Morgana.

"Mists of Avalon" retains Morgause as Mordred mother by allowing her to adopt him after Morgana gave birth to him. This will be the last time she will appear as his mother.

I suspect since "Excalibur" (1981) was such a success, it was just easier for movies to add the much more active Morgana (often also taking the role of Nimue) instead of Morgause, and to merge the two together to enrich Morgana's character even more.

In general, for the few times Morgause actually appears, she seems to take the role of antagonist, I suspect almost "stealing" it from Morgana often to allow Morgana to be more sympathetic. In "Excalibur kid" she acts as a witch, effectively taking the role often given to Morgana but her actress is quite fun and the movie light enough that she still manages to avoid the evil cliches, in "Mists of Avalon" she is also one of the main antagonists and is not presented in a sympathetic light.

"Kaamelott" then has, in my opinion, the most interesting adaptation of Morgause. She hates Arthur, but the scenes where she expresses her hatred also shows her so filled with despair and emotions, and many of her appearances leaves an almost unease and enigmatic feeling (or at least they did in me!).

In 2008 ("Merlin") we go back to almost a cliche villain Morgause. While her cause does have merit, Merlin BBC never did a good job in managing the oppression of magic users vs what ways and means of resistance were considered allowed by the morality of the shows. We have Morgana, Morgause and many other magic users who are oppressed cruelly, and yet are only introduced as villains and often taken to the extreme in their actions or just "smirking like a villain" scenes.

And finally we get to the 2018 French animated series, which full turns Morgause into a comedic villain.

A small note: I was quite sad to see that Morgana has taken Morgause's role with so much success than even in the 2021's "The Green Knight" Gawain's mother is Morgana herself.

[fuckyeaharthuriana]

mordred through time (movies, tv shows, opera and musicals)

Part 4: From 2014 to 2017

Other Parts: Part 1: From 1949 to 1981 -> here Part 2: From 1982 to 2002 -> here Part 3: From 2002 to 2010 -> here Part 5: From 2018 to 2023

For this part I just wanted to talk a bit about sympathetic Mordred.

Through time we started to see a more sympathetic Mordred. I think the first iteration in audio/movies/tv was the the Blind Guardian's song in 1995. For the first time we have Mordred as a protagonist, mainly lamenting of regret, pain and lonliness. While I do not know why they decided to focus on Mordred, it is also notable that writing a more sympathetic Mordred was already happening in novels, around the same time. I used the arthurian list of novels I made so I might have missed any, but at this time we have 1956 "The Great Captains" by Henry Treece, "Sword at Sunset" by Sutcliff, "The Wicked Day" (the first novel focusing on Mordred as protagonist) by Mary Stewart, 1982 "The Idylls of the Queen" (Phyllis Ann Karr), 1983 "The Mists of Avalon" (Marion Zimmer Bradley), Persia Wolley's 1987 Guinevere trilogy, 1988 "The road to Avalon" by Joan Wolf and 1988 "The Book of Mordred" by Hanratty all depicting Mordred as a more round character, as someone the reader can feel sympathy too or even enjoy or relate to.

A slighty sympathetic but still villanous potrayal can then be found in 2001 ("The Mists of Avalon" miniseries) but we have to wait till 2008 ("Merlin", BBC) to have a tv Mordred who is actually shown trying to do the right thing (at least for a bit), and working with Arthur. I think this is more due to the fact that "Merlin" often tries to depict villains' origins and motivations than a real conscious attempt to redeem Mordred or make him less villanous.

Other following examples are the kid movie 2010 "Merlin and Arthur the Lion King" and the album 2014 "High Noon Over Camelot" that positions Mordred in a co-protagonist role and fully allows the listeners to empathyze with him. The Fate franchise (the introduction of Mordred should be around 2012 in the novels) continues on this trajectory, making Mordred a main sympathetic and beloved protagonist in many of the adaptations.

2014 High Noon Over Camelot album by The Mechanisms: The song I used is "Peacemaker". The album has multiple arthurian characters sung by different artists, and Mordred is interpreted by Ashes O'Reilly. This is also the first time we have an explicitly queer Mordred (outside of novels), as Mordred is a trans man in this retelling. The story is a Western reimagining of arthuriana, and another case of a sympathetic Mordred - this time Mordred is more overtly sympathetic and even reconcile with his father Arthur at the end.

2011 recording of Albeniz's "Merlin": Piotr Prochera plays Mordred. This is another recording (no dvd, this has been shared by Piotr Prochera acor himself on youtube) of the "Merlin" opera.

2015 recording of "Le Roi Arthus": This opera is probably my favorite arthurian opera. It was created by Ernest Chausson between 1886 and 1895 and it is sung in French. Mordred is a bass and a classic villain, here jealous of Lancelot and the attention Guinevere gives Lancelot. This 2015 version was a modernized edition, with the knights depicted as modern soldiers. Mordred here is played by Alexandre Duhamel.

2016 Rex, youtube webseries: This series is on Severe Chill Studios' Youtube channel, with 48 short episodes. The series is a vlog of arthurian characters living in modern times (no reincarnations, just reimaginings). It follows Rex (Arthur) a student who is dealing with his abusive family and the brothers Merlin and Lancelot. Moore (Mordred) is Arthur's spoiled and arrogant friend (played by Daniel O’Sullivan). He lets Rex crash at his place for a bit, and is often depicted insulting his mother and calling her slurs. If you decide to watch this just know the series has some pretty heavy themes (a part from domestic abuse it also touches on terminal illness). Youtube link.

2017 Fate/Apocrypha: This is one of the many anime adaptation of the Fate franchise. Mordred is voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro. The Fate franchise is massive and deals with numerous spin-offs or even alternative realities to tell the tales of wars/battles for the Holy Grail mainly fought by Servants who are personification of historical/legendary figures. Fate/Apocrypha is based on a series of novel and is an alternative timeline to the previous Fate/Stay Night anime and also the first time we have Mordred in the anime. Mordred is here a Servant, they are the cloned-son of Saber (Arthur/Arturia, who is a woman) and Morgana. Their story is massive so let me just say I am using they/them for Mordred because the Fate series is very ambigous regarding theri gender. They are born as the close of a woman (Saber) and often referred with female pronouns through the series, they hate being called "a girl", and also hate being called "a boy". While I do not think the series was making an effort to actually depict a non-binary character, I do believe Mordred can easily be read as one.

2017 King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table: 2017 was a wild year for arthuriana but nothing was as wild as this movie. The movie follows the life of some arthurian characters' descendant living in Thailand. Morgana and Mordred (banished in arthurian times) ended up in space, working with aliens, and are now back to destroy the descendants. The movie is full over dramatic close up, Morgana turning into a mecha, fighting scenes and more. Interestingly, given how ridiculous the movie is, Mordred is depicted as a sympathetic (almost) villain. He is played by Russell Geoffrey Banks.

2017 King Arthur: Excalibur Rising: The scene I used in the video is right at the start, as the movie is set after Arthur's death. While Mordred might seem sympathetic there he is actually a pretty violent villain for the rest of the movie. The story is focused on Owain (Arthur's illegitimate son) trying to take back the crown from Mordred and Morgana. Here Mordred (played by Gavin Swift) is Arthur's incestuous son with Morgana.

2017 Legend, youtube webseries: A webseries you can watch on Tufts University Television's channel (link here). The series has 7 episodes and an epilogue and is set in a university. Each student is an arthurian character, with Mordred (Morty) as the overly joking, friendly guy who is hiding some deep hatred and jealousy towards Arthur. Unfortunately I do not remember if Mordred is Arthur's half-brother or just a friend. Mordred is played by Yuval Ben-Hayun. The story and production were pretty good, so I recommend it!

2017 Mordred La Revolte: I cheated a bit as this movie is the end of a long webseries. The series started in 2013 and run till 2018 with two season and can still be found here on youtube. The series was created by Tommy-Lee Baïk (who also played Mordred) and is in French. Unfortunately I cannot really tell how arthurian the series is, but the plot does not mention other arthurian characters. If I am not wrong, la Revolte is simply S2 turned into a movie.

2017 Fate/Grand Order The stage - Divine Realm of the Round Table: Camelot: Part of the Fate saga but in the Grand Order timeline, this is a stage adaptation of one of the events in the videogame Fate/Grand Order. In particular, it should be the same story shown in the later movie Camelot part 1 as the full title is Fate/Grand Order THE STAGE - Divine Realm of the Round Table: Camelot Replica; Agateram. I will explain more about it in the next part of this Mordred series. Chihiro Kai plays Mordred.

[fuckyeaharthuriana]

mordred through time (movies, tv shows, opera and musicals)

Part 2: From 1982 to 2002

Other Parts: Part 1: From 1949 to 1981 -> here Part 3: From 2002 to 2010 Part 4: From 2014 to 2017 Part 5: From 2018 to 2023

EDIT: There is a mistake in the video, Blind Guardian's Mordred's song was released in 1995 not 1989, so I corrected it in the description.

Complete list of part 2 media with extra information and some of my thoughs regarding the evolution of Mordred’s role is under cut.

We left part 1 with Mordred appearing only as a generic villain not related to Arthur until 1960 where White's novel is adapted into a musical. The musical follows the novel enough to introduce Mordred as Arthur's incestuous son with Morgause. Since then the "son" element has been kept in almost every single adaptation. We also have the first tv iteration of Mordred as Morgana's son instead of Morgause: Excalibur 1981.

This is not only the first time we see Morgana as his mother on tv, but also one of the first time ever. I made a list of the evolution of Mordred's mother in novels here.

You can see Morgause is pretty constant until 1980-1982. I have no idea what happened in those years but for the first time we have the 1980 novel "Firelord" by Parke Godwin itroducing Morgana as Mordred's mother instead of Morgause (in this case Morgause is completely eliminated). The 1981's movie Excalibur does something similar (Morgause is eliminated and Morgana absorbs her role), and I am pretty sure it could not have been influenced by "Firelord", given the two events happened so close in time (and less than a year is not usually sufficient to write and produce a movie). In 1982 Marion Zimmer Bradley published "The Mists of Avalon" which does something similar to Catherine Christian's "Pendragon": Morgause is still officially Mordred's mother by adoption.

From this point onwards you will see that Morgause ends up completely eliminated in her role as Mordred's mother from future movies and tv shows.

Full list for part 2 and more info:

1982 Camelot: I wrote a bit about the musical in part 1. This is a stage adaptation filmed live, so it retains all the songs (even Mordred's songs previously cut in the movie) and Richard Backus plays Mordred.

1984 Morte d'Arthur: A tv movie that probably was preserved thanks to Jeremy Brett's popularity as he played King Arthur. This movie is a strange adaptation of Morte d'Arthur, with the actors playing the scenes on a stage with no dialogue. A narrator tells the tale (and the dialogues themselves). Nickolas Grace played Mordred.

1985 Merlin and the Sword: Also known as "Arthur the King", this movie actually exists in two versions, the cut version missing some scenes (Arthur's funeral apparently!). The movie focuses mainly on Merlin, Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot and Mordred plays the role of Arthur's son (from Morgana) and a kind of minor comedic fumbling villain. He was played by Joseph Blatchley.

1988 New Adventures of a Yankee in King Arthur's Court: One of the many adaptations of Mark Twain's novel, this one is a bizarre Ukranian (Soviet) movie that depicts Hank Morgan as a destructive force in Camelot. The movie is absolutely stunning, but being in Russian I could not understand the dialogue. Mordred plays a very minor role, he is Morgana's son and he is killed by Hank in a treacherous duel (Hank shoots him). His death is what leads Arthur and Morgana to ally to try and defear Hank Morgan. Mordred is played by Ukranian actor Mark Gres.

1989 Mordred's song by Blind Guardian: the correct date is 1995.

1989 A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court: This is without a doubt my favorite adaptation of Twain's novel. Here Hank Morgan is actually a little girl called Karen. Mordred is a comedic-like antagonist and the main antagonist of the movie, played by Hugo Blick (who is mainly known now as a movie director).

1989 Doctor Who Battlefield: This is a 4 episodes arc in the 26th season of Doctor Who, with the Seventh Doctor being revealed as Merlin. Later on it was adapted into a novel. The episodes are set in modern times, with Morgana and her son Mordred having survived Camlann and travelling through time. Mordred is mainly shown to hate a new knight called Ancelyn who also survived Camlann. Christopher Bowen played Mordred.

1995 Mordred's song by Blind Guardian: So I decided to add the few songs/album that acts like a "Mordred's point of view/as if he was singing" kind of media. The singer here is singing as Mordred. It was also used in this 2016 rap song!

1998 Merlin: Probably one of the most popular arthurian miniseries! It follows the life of Merlin, from his childhood to his elderly years and the second episode mainly focus on Camelot and Arthur. Mordred is Morgana and Arthur's son, magically aged (like we saw in Excalibur 1981) and he becomes the main villain of the story alongside Mab. He is played by Jason Done.

2001 The Mists of Avalon: This is a miniseries adaptation of Marion Zimmer Bradley's novel, focusing on Morgana, Arthur and Guinevere. In my opinion it makes the novel much more palatable and easier to digest. Mordred here appears once more as Morgana's son, but he is a adopted by Morgause and raised to hate Arthur. Mordred is the main antagonist in the second part, and his character here is turned into an almost sympathetic villain. Hans Matherson played adult Mordred (I was obsessed with that man 15 years ago).

2002 Justice League (and the 2004 sequel Justice League Unlimited): Justice League (two seasons) and Justice League Unlimited (3 seasons) are animated shows (for a younger audience) which adapts some stories from DC (both DC and Marvel have interations of Morgana and Mordred). Mordred is a kid (Morgana put a spell on him to keep him young) and immortal, both him and Morgana are villains who use magic. He is voiced by Soren Fulton.

A small note: All these movies here are for tv! Cinematic releases for arthurian movies in general do not seem to be as prominent. It is kind of heartbreaking noawadys to see the disappearance of cheap tv movies.

[fuckyeaharthuriana]

mordred through time (movies, tv shows, opera and musicals)

Part 5: From 2018 to 2023 (and 2024)

Other Parts: Part 1: From 1949 to 1981 -> here Part 2: From 1982 to 2002 -> here Part 3: From 2002 to 2010 -> here Part 4: From 2014 to 2017 -> here

For this last part I wanted to talk a bit about queer Mordred!

First of all, Mordred is one of the main characters who is written as LGBTQ in novels and other media. My arthurian excel list of queer arthurian characters (arthurian list of everything, in the LGBTQ sheet) is up to a few years ago, but the numbers seem to be: LGBTQ Lancelot in 16 media, Arthur in 13 media which is equal to Mordred who is also LGBTQ in 13 media (two being interpretations: White's "The once and future king" and "Fall of Camelot" fromt he Time Life books). Most of these are, of course, novels, with the first ever appearance of LGBTQ Mordred in 1956 Borowsky's novel "The Queen's knight", where Mordred is a gay man. Then in 1982 Cherryh's "Port Eternity" has asexual Mordred, even if the characters could be debated on how arthurian they are. We then jump to 1997 with the short story "The Pretender" by Stephen Dedman, with mlm Mordred.

2005 "A Connecticut Fashionista in King Arthur's Court" by Mari Mancusi (gay Mordred) 2006 "Mordred bastard son" by Douglas Clegg (gay Mordred) 2008 "The Silurian series" by Wilson (gay Mordred) 2012 "The Prince and the Program" by Mercer (bisexual Mordred) 2014 "Mordred and the king" by Curlovich (gay Mordred)

In movies, shows and musicals instead we could consider 2008 musical Mordred the first iteration of queer Mordred (part 3). This is of course an interpretation and it might probably just be a case of queer-coding of villains that reminds of Disney movies. Still, there is no doubt Bobby Steggert, who is an out gay actor (at the time, now he is a therapist) played an obvious queer coded Mordred.

It is only in 2014 that we have an explicit LGBTQ Mordred with "High Noon over Camelot" which also for the first time ever introduces Mordred as a trans man. From 2017 we also get introduced to Fate's Mordred (Fate/Aprocrypha and subsequient movies and stage shows) whose gender has always been a debated topic. I already talked about it in part 4, but Mordred in Fate is definitely written as a non binary character. In 2018 the webseries "The Campaign for Camelot" has Mordred as a protagonist and mlm, with a romance as well (another male character in the show). The last time we saw Mordred with a romance was back in the 60s, in the movie "Sword of Lancelot"!

I think the most interesting thing is that Mordred is without a doubt the character who is the most interpreted as LGBTQ in movies and tv shows. From memory, the only other characters are Morgana (in the Netflix's "Cursed", webseries "Legend" and "The Campaign for Camelot"), Lancelot (in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail", "High Noon over Camelot" and "Spamalot"), Galahad (in Josh Ritter's song "Galahad"), Arthur ("High noon over Camelot") and Merlin (webseries "Legend").

2018 Arthur et les enfants de la Table Ronde: This is a two-seasons French animated show that narrates the adventures of Arthur, an orphan kid living in Uther's kingdom. The show has other arthurian characters as kids (Guinevere, Gawain, Sagramore, Morgana) and Mordred himself is also a kid. Morgause and Igraine (Morgana's sisters) are the main villain and Mordred (their cousin) is also a villain. The voice from the clip is from the Italian dub but the original French voice actor was Ricardo Richter.

2018 The Campaign for Camelot (webseries): This websites (you can watch it here) is a complete 78 short episodes series where different modern arthurian characters decide to run for the school board against Arthur's wishes. Mordred is one of the main protagonists and he is introduced in episode 7. Over the series he also develops a romance with Izzy (Iddawg, from “The Dream of Rhonabwy”). To clarify, in the clip Mordred is the guy without the glasses and the darker shirt! And he is played by Dylan Martin.

2018/2019 OSK's Knights of the Round Table musical: This clip is from a recording but a dvd also exists. OSK is a Japanese theater company of all women. Mordred was interpreted by Momo Mika. The story of the musical follows the classical Arthur-Guinevere-Lancelot triangle with Mordred appearing (as Arthur's son) in the second part of the story.

2020 Arthur and Merlin: Knights of Camelot: A much less exciting movie than I expected, focusing on Arthur trying to reclaim Camelot after Mordred betrays him. Mordred (played by Joel Phillimore) plays Arthur's son and the villain of the story. He often uses threats of sexual violence towards Guinevere.

2020 Fate/Grand Order the movie: Camelot: Another installment in the Fate series. This movie is set in the Grand Order timeline (different from Apocrypha), but Mordred is still a very similar character and they are still voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro. The original title is Fate/Grand Order: Shinsei Entaku Ryouiki Camelot 1 - Wandering; Agateram as in 2020 only part 1 released. Part 2 is called Fate/Grand Order: Shinsei Entaku Ryouiki Camelot - Paladin; Agateram and was released in 2021. Basically part one is Wandering Agateram and part two is Paladin Agateram. Different from other Fate series, this one is set in the past (in 1273 A.D.).

2021 Fate/Grand Order: The Grand Temple of Time: Another movie based on the videogame Fate/Grand Order... please do not ask me the plot, I just know Mordred is not as present here as in the previous movie or as in Fate/Apocrypha.

2021 Le Roi Arthus opera: This is a 1895 opera written by Ernest Chausson and sung in French. I already talked about it before, just know this is the most recent iteration of it and the only video we have of the opera performed in arthurian clothes (the previous filmed performance was a modernization). Mordred was played by baritone Justin Austin.

2023 Camelot Revival: The return of the musical Camelot! There are a few bootlegs around (at least 4 of them) if you want to watch it, but I am not allowed to share them. Still, I got them from asking a gift on the reddit BootlegsGifts. As I still have to watch it I cannot comment on any possible difference here, just know this version was extremely successful. Mordred is played by Taylor Trensch, and Hawley Gould was his understudy (not in audio).

[fuckyeaharthuriana]

mordred through time (movies, tv shows, opera and musicals)

Part 3: From 2002 to 2010

Other Parts: Part 1: From 1949 to 1981 -> here Part 2: From 1982 to 2002 -> here Part 4: From 2014 to 2017 Part 5: From 2018 to 2023

Complete list of part 2 media with extra information and some of my thoughs regarding the evolution of Mordred’s role is under cut.

In part 2 I talked a bit about how in movie adaptations (since Excalibur 1981) Morgause disappears and Morgana takes her role as Mordred's mother. Here I wanted to note how we actually have a very big gap of Mordred movies in the 2000s. Most of the media in this video are recordings of musicals or opera or tv shows.

Another small point is that we have here the second instance of Mordred in a romantic relationship (the first instance being Mordred and his lady in "Sword of Lancelot") in Merlin BBC, where his love for Kara is a central part of his character development. The third and only other instance will be in a webseries (in part 4!).

2002 Merlin the Return: Craig Sheffer plays an over the top extremely evil Mordred in this tv movie. He is still Morgana's son, and he is the main antagonist (and a wizard). The movie is - an experience. It mainly focus on modern day characters meeting time travelling Arthur and Merlin.

2003 Gary Hughes' album "Once and future king": The song is "The Hard Way", one of the two songs sung by Mordred (the other being "Demon Down"). This album (divided in two parts) has a total of 20 songs sung by different artists each interpreting an arthurian character. It is an interesting narrative musical that follows the rise and fall of Arthur. We do not know if Mordred is Arthur's son.

2003 recording of Albeniz's "Merlin" opera: This is a 1902 opera that is rarely performed nowadays. This recording is the only available dvd of it, and Mordred (a baritone) is played by Àngel Òdena. Mordred is the main antagonist alongside his mother Morgana.

2003 Camelot, Papermill Playhouse: I was lucky enough to have some bootlegs videos of Camelot performances so I decided to put them as well. It is pretty interesting to see how Mordred's "The Seven Deadly Virtues" and "Fie on Goodness!" gets campier, more comedici and sillier! Here Mordred is played by Barrett Foa.

2005 Camelot, Bad Hersfeld (Germany): Another recording of the Broadway musical, here fully translated in German! This is the website of the open air event. Unfortunately I could not find the name of the actor.

2008 Camelot (Live from Lincoln Center): Live from Lincoln Center used to be a tv series dedicated to filming and sharing musicals and performances. This is thus another Camelot musical adaptation. Bobby Steggert (who is now a therapist!!) played an over the top, super-campy, queer coded Mordred! This is probably the first time we have a Mordred that is so obviously queer coded in his presentation.

2008 Merlin (BBC): This 5 seasons tv show was extremely popular, so much it led to the rise of a bunch of arthurian tv movies that were probably trying to ride "Merlin"'s popularity. The show is episodic-like, slightly comedic, and focuses on Merlin and Arthur. Mordred appears as a child (not related to Arthur or Morgana) at the end of Season 1 and he was portrayed by Asa Butterfield (not in video). Then he returned as an adult in Season 5, potrayed by Alexander Vlahos. This is another instance of a sympathetic Mordred. While he ends up being a villain and finding an alliance with Morgana, the show makes a point to explain his reasons. At this point this is the second time we see a sympathetic (but still villanous) Mordred on tv. Interestingly this is also the second time we see a Mordred who is in a happy romantic relationship (there are only three instances, it seems, in all media!), as Mordred is in love with a woman named Kara.

2009 Merlin and the Book of Beasts: This is a fantasy tv movie that focus on Merlin helping Arthur's daughter reclaim Camelot. It features a baffling performance from Merlin's actor (not sure what the director or the actor himself was thinking), and a villain called Arkadian who is supposed to be Mordred and Arthur's son. Here we go back to the role of extremely evil Mordred, and Arkadian also kidnaps his half-sister to marry her and continue the Pendragon dynasty. Mordred (Arkadian) is played by Jim Thorburn.

2010 Avalon High: This is a tv Disney channel movie adaptation of Meg Cabot's novel by the same title. The movie butchers the main story of the novel and tries to surprise its viewers by changing the character's arthurian selves. The protagonist Allie is now King Arthur's reincarnation (instead of the Lady of the Lake), and William (her love interest) is... unknown character instead of being King Arthur. The novel has William's half brother as Mordred, but the movie changes that and now it is the teacher (Mr. Moore) who is revealed to be Mordred, while Marco is just a misdirection. Mr. Moore is played by Steve Valentine.

2010 Merlin and Arthur the Lion King: Continuing our journey into sympathetic Mordreds, we have another one here! This movie is one in a series of tv movies/dvd movies by variation of "Arthur" and "Merlin" in the title. My personal theory is that the hope is that people would find the movie by googling for more popular media (ex. "Merlin 2008 BBC", "King Arthur 2004"). In this animated kids movie, Mordred is a kitten and one of Arthur's friends. He first works with Morgana to stop Arthur from becoming king, but then ends up deciding he does not want to betray his friend anymore. This might be one of the few iterations of a completely redeemed Mordred in movies/tv!

Extra note: 2003 is also the year Heather Dale (singer) released her album "May Queen" which has one song that in my opinion seemed to be sung by Mordred or to Mordred: "Crashing Down". Because it is not certain but only my interpretation I did not add it.

In the same album we also have "War Between Brothers" which reference to Mordred (sung by an external narrator). A previous album ("The trials of Lancelot" in 2000) also contains the famous song "Mordred's Lullaby" which is sung by Morgana to Mordred.