Between Merlin and now Camelot, Arthurian knights may be poised to become the next vampires. Okay, maybe not. But the latest announcement from Starz and GK-TV ensures their recently greenlit retelling of the Arthur story will get an armored leg up.

The cable network and its production partner today revealed an impressive cast that includes Joseph Fiennes (FlashForward, Shakespeare in Love) as Merlin, Eva Green (The Golden Compass, Casino Royale), Jamie Campbell Bower (Sweeney Todd, New Moon) as Arthur and Tamsin Egerton (The Mists of Avalon, St. Trinian's) as Guinevere.

The 10-episode series is set to begin production this month and premiere in early 2011 on Starz in the United States and on the CBC in Canada. Camelot will be distributed internationally by GK-TV.

Starz is slowly building its slate of original programming with series like the comedy-drama Party Down and the historical drama Spartacus: Blood and Sand, and the upcoming eight-hour miniseries based on Ken Follett's historical novel The Pillars of the Earth.