After finding success with the gladiator soap Spartacus: Blood and Sand, Starz will next turn to medieval times for the new series Camelot, a fresh take on the classic King Arthur saga.  Joseph Fiennes (FlashForward) and Eva Green (Casino Royale) have signed on to headline the series; Fiennes will play the iconic wizard Merlin, while Green will portray the sorceress Morgana.

The pair join Jamie Campbell Bower (New Moon) and Tamsin Egerton (St. Trinian’s), who were cast as Arthur and Guinevere, respectively.  Production begins this month with a target premiere of early 2011.  Hit the jump for the full press release.

Here’s the official press release:

MAIN CAST SET FOR ‘CAMELOT’

Joseph Fiennes (Merlin), Eva Green (Morgana) Join Newcomers Jamie Campbell Bower (Arthur) and Tamsin Egerton (Guinevere)

Production Begins in June for 10-Episode Epic Series Set to Debut in Early 2011 on Starz in the U.S.

Los Angeles – June 3, 2010 – Starz and GK-TV announced today that Joseph Fiennes, Eva Green, Jamie Campbell Bower and Tamsin Egerton have signed on to the upcoming series “Camelot.”

“Camelot” will take a fresh approach to telling the Arthur story, and casting Fiennes as the wizard Merlin and Eva Green, in her first television role, as the powerful sorceress Morgana will help set the tone for the series. The essential roles of Arthur and Guinevere will be played by Jamie Campbell Bower and Tamsin Egerton, respectively.

Fiennes was most recently lead in the ABC series “Flash Forward” but is probably best known for playing the title role in the Best Picture Oscar®-winner Shakespeare in Love and as Robert Dudley in the acclaimed Elizabeth. Green is best known for her role as the mysterious Bond girl Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale, Sybilla in Ridley Scott’s saga Kingdom of Heaven and as Serafina Pekkala the beautiful, good witch in The Golden Compass. Her role in Casino Royale earned Green the BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2007.  She recently concluded filming Benedick Fliegauf’s Womb and The Last Word starring alongside Ewan McGregor.

Bower gained notice playing the role of Anthony in Tim Burton’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, as well as his performance as Caius Volturi in Twilight: New Moon, and is generating buzz for his role in the upcoming two-part conclusion of the Harry Potter saga, when he plays Gellert Grindelwald in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows, Parts I and II. Egerton has had notable roles in such features as Keeping Mum and St. Trinian’s and got her first taste of the Arthurian legend playing the young Morgaine in the mini-series “The Mists of Avalon.

”With Joseph Fiennes, Eva Green, Jamie Campbell Bower and Tamsin Egerton in the cast, we’ve got actors who can bring real passion and intensity to their roles,” Starz President and CEO Chris Albrecht said.

Starz Media Managing Director Carmi Zlotnik added, “All of the best TV shows were marked by great actors in the ideal parts, and that is certainly the case with the talented cast on ‘Camelot.’”

“We couldn’t be more thrilled with this world class cast for ‘Camelot,’” said Graham King.  Added GK-TV President Craig Cegielski, “This announcement further solidifies GK-TV’s mandate of being the premier destination for cinematic-quality TV programming with a global appeal.”

Production is slated to begin later in June with the 10-episode series premiering in the first part of 2011.  “Camelot” is a co-production between the Irish production company Octagon and Take 5 Productions in Canada, developed in association with the UK’s Ecosse Films.

Camelot will be broadcast on Starz in the US, and on the CBC in Canada, and will distributed internationally by GK.-TV.