Cursed sets its Lady of the Lake in action in Netflix series' first Arthurian trailer

Cursed, a twist on the traditional King Arthur narrative from comic legend Frank Miller and Tom Wheeler, takes a side character in the legend of old (the Lady of the Lake) and reimagines her as a YA heroine. Nimue, a magical teen and not yet the Excalibur-granting figure of myth, is teaming up with Arthur to find Merlin. This show comes concurrently with the illustrated book of the same name, which makes this show's first trailer less of an adaptation than a co-production.

That makes a lot of sense to look at it, as the trailer's slo-mo, expressive aesthetic harkens to other Miller-associated projects like 300. Swordplay, evil robed crusaders, and lots of fighting over a single (very important) sword follow.

Check it out:

The 10-episode Netflix show stars Katherine Langford, whom fans can see rising from the water (sword in hand) in the trailer, taking matters into her own hands — lake or no lake. "What if the sword chooses a queen?" asks Nimue. She'll be helping out the likes of Arthur (Devon Terrell), while grappling with a cast including Gustaf Skarsgård, Daniel Sharman, Peter Mullan, Lily Newmark, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Sebastian Armesto, Emily Coates, Catherine Walker, and Billy Jenkins.

"Realizing these characters from page to screen was a unique and thrilling creative challenge," Wheeler recently said about the story. "I think first and foremost when casting for Cursed, Frank and I were looking for a mythological truth, actors who could bring the emotion and the humanity to legendary characters without losing the sense of elemental magic and epic stakes."

Cursed hits Netflix on July 17.