Swedish commercial broadcaster TV4 replaces Swedish pubcaster SVT as co-producer of Svensk Filmindustri's Arn: The Knight Templar.

The $30.3m (Euro 22.8m) adaptation of Jan Guillou's bestselling trilogy of Arn Magnusson lost support from pubcaster SVT because 'the material we have seen does not live up to the quality we expected.'

Stepping into the gap left by SVT, TV4's CEO Jan Scherman says, 'Arn is a prestigious project of highest quality, and shows what Sweden can achieve in film and television. It fits perfectly into our range of programming.'

'We are obviously pleased to enter Sweden's largest film production so far, getting the opportunity to continue our collaboration with Guillou,' says TV4 programme director Åsa Sjöberg.

TV4 will air both Arn: The Knight Templar and Arn: The Kingdom at the End of the Road: the three-hour international feature version and the six-hour television series.

Dane Peter Flinth directs Scandinavia's most expensive movie project, which is produced by Johan Mardell and Waldemar Bergendahl for Svensk Filmindustri, now with TV4, Tju-Bang Film (Denmark) and Germany's Telepool.

Swedish writer Hans Gunnarsson, who scripted Guillou's Evil for Mikael Hafström's Oscar-nominated film Evil (2004), wrote the story of the young Swede sent to the Holy Land as a Knight Templar, having succumbed to love and carnal lust. He returns to unify Sweden.

Oscar-winner Anna Asp (Fanny and Alexander) designed the 12th century sets for newcomer Joakim Nätterqvist as Arn and and Sofia Helin Dalecarlians as his love. Stellan Skarsgård, Michael Nyqvist and Bibi Andersson co-star.

Filmed on locations in Morocco, Swedish west coast and Film i Väst, Arn: The Knight Templar's domestic release is scheduled for 25 December, while Arn: The Kingdom at the End of the Road for autumn 2008.

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