Netflix has released the first Marco Polo trailer for its upcoming historical drama series.  The show follows the explorer’s adventures throughout the 13th century in the court of Kublai Khan, the ruler of the Mongol Empire.  Acting as the ruler’s spy, ambassador, and explorer, Marco treks across the Far East, resulting in a story filled with greed, betrayal, sexual intrigue, and rivalry.  The show was created and written by John Fusco (Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron), and Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales) directed the first two episodes.  This trailer certainly teases a massive scope, as this appears to be Netflix’s biggest original series yet.  There’s also plenty of sex and violence, but I’m most struck by the impressive visuals.  Indeed, the drama was shot on location in Italy, Kazakhstan, and Malaysia.

Watch the first Marco Polo trailer after the jump.  The series stars Lorenzo Richelmy, Benedict Wong, Joan Chen, Chin Han, Zhu Zhu, Olivia Cheng, Claudia Kim, Mahesh Jadu, Tom Wu, Remy Hii, Uli Latukefu, and Rick Yune.  The 10-episode first season of Marco Polo will be available to stream in its entirety on Netflix starting December 12th.