I've been eager to see what this show looks like, ever since the first photos of the lead star came out in September. So, I searched online for the video, sans restrictions, and was fortunate to find one (Hooray, internet!) :
Da Vinci's Demon is a collaboration between Starz and the BBC Worldwide. BBC tapped David S. Goyer to write the show and run it.
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| From Da Vinci's Demons |
In the Goyer's official blog for the show, he writes that there were other historical figures the BBC had in mind to do a series about. But they settled on the story of a certain Leonardo from Vinci, Italy because his life was indeed fascinating.
Da Vinci's Demons focuses on Leonardo Da Vinci's "hidden years" where many of the actual accounts are still being discovered by historians to this day.
Goyer calls this TV show a "historical indulgence", with some of the facts altered for dramatic license. But the characters appearing on the series did really exist back in those days.
Da Vinci De-Gayed?
While Goyer calls him "the greatest genius that ever lived" and as Leonardo Da Vinci isn't known as the Renaissance Man for nothing, over centuries, his life and significance to the world has been marked by a lot of controversies.
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| From Da Vinci's Demons |
With the release of the first teaser came questions and insinuations that this TV show Da Vinci is going to be a lot different from the Da Vinci many history books have written about.
After Elton writes (and later retracts) that there were hints the character will be portrayed as a ladykiller, even while there history has alleged that this genius is a homosexual.
Retraction:
Goyer Departs?
Then there is also that story about Goyer actually leaving the series in the middle of production, citing creative differences with the network.
This I highly doubt, though, mainly because 1) no such news has been officially cited and 2) cable shows have more allowances when it comes to what can and cannot be done in a TVshow. With Starz's track record (it is after all the network where the controversial Spartacus airs), I don't believe the showrunner's hands were tied and controlled, creatively.
Airing in Spring
All these buzz surrounding Da Vinci's Demons this early is drumming up its debut slated sometime Spring 2013. (I'm guessing late March?). Starz has been sparse with releasing more information about the series. But I imagine we will be learning more about the show as soon as the new year comes in.
Da Vinci's Demons stars Tom Riley as Leonardo Da Vinci while showrunner David S. Goyer's credits include writing the movie The Dark Knight Trilogy and the upcoming movie Man of Steel.
Below is the official description from its very first press release back in January:
Starz Entertainment and BBC Worldwide Productions announced today that British actor Tom Riley will play a young Leonardo da Vinci in the upcoming Starz original series "Da Vinci's Demons." Riley's casting is the first announced for the series. "Da Vinci's Demons," written by David S. Goyer, is a historical fantasy, following the 'untold' story of the world's greatest genius during his turbulent youth in Renaissance Florence. Brilliant and passionate, the twenty five-year old da Vinci is an artist, inventor, swordsman, lover, dreamer and idealist. As a free thinker, with intellect and talents that are almost superhuman, he struggles to live within the confines of his own reality and time. He begins to not only see the future, but invent it.
