There are plenty of Disney stories that have lived on long after their final credits rolled. But increasingly, Disney doesn’t need to return to the big or small screen to continue exploring them.
Sometimes, the next chapter can be found on the page.
Disney is once again digging deeper into the world of its 1963 animated classic The Sword in the Stone with an all-new original graphic novel — and this time, the story is turning the clock back on one of the film’s most memorable characters.
Arriving September 8, Disney The Sword in the Stone Vol. 2: Merlin’s Tale will explore the untold origins of Merlin, including how he became the powerful wizard audiences know and, perhaps even more interestingly, how his history with the wonderfully wicked Madam Mim actually began.
It is another example of Disney leveraging publishing to do something its larger screens don’t always have room for: return to familiar animated worlds and tell stories that were never explored in the original films.
And Merlin’s Tale has quite a bit of history to uncover.
Long before Merlin became the eccentric mentor who would eventually help guide young Arthur, he was an orphan discovering magical abilities that were becoming increasingly difficult to control.
Born to a Sprite mother and Elf father, Merlin is taken in by a traveling group of performers after losing his parents. But it doesn’t take long for his mysterious magical abilities to emerge — or for someone else to notice exactly what he might be capable of.
That someone is Mim.
Yes, that Mim.
Rather than beginning as the magical rivals audiences remember from The Sword in the Stone, the graphic novel will introduce a much younger Mim who sees Merlin’s potential firsthand. She convinces him to leave the only home he has known and travel alongside her as the two attempt to better understand their growing magical abilities.
For Merlin, the journey offers an opportunity to understand his powers and ultimately use them to help others.
Mim, however, has some rather different ideas about what magic could accomplish.
That relationship gives the graphic novel an especially interesting piece of Disney history to explore. We already know where Merlin and Mim eventually end up, but Merlin’s Tale gets to fill in the missing pieces of how two young magic users traveling together ultimately became the rivals we meet in the animated classic.
Written by Erica Schultz, Merlin’s Tale is the second volume in The Sword in the Stone Original Graphic Novel series.
And that continued expansion is what makes Disney’s publishing space increasingly interesting.
Not every classic animated property is going to receive another movie, Disney+ series or theatrical remake. Publishing, however, gives Disney another place to revisit these worlds without simply retelling the stories audiences already know. Characters who may never receive their own film or streaming series can suddenly have their histories expanded, relationships explored and missing adventures finally told.
For a movie released more than six decades ago, there are still plenty of magical stories hidden within The Sword in the Stone.
This September, one of them finally belongs to Merlin.
Disney The Sword in the Stone Vol. 2: Merlin’s Tale arrives September 8.