Streaming giants Netflix have announced that SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali films are being converted to a TV series. The series will focus on the time before Baahubali, a time when Mahishmathi empire was rising to glory. Netflix even shared a little clip that introduced the series, with snippets from Rajamouli’s first two films starring Prabhas, Ramya Krishnan, Rana Daggubati, Sathyaraj, Anushka Shetty, and Tamannaah Bhatia.

The series comes as a huge surprise, considering how fans have still been reeling from the last film – Baahubali: The Conclusion – from last year. The show will focus on a time before Amarendra Baahubali’s reign as king, and the audience will get to witness Queen Sivagami’s rise from a vengeful girl to a wise and unequalled queen.

Deva Katta and Praveen Sataru will together direct the series. Season one of the series will comprise nine episodes and is based on Anand Neelakantan’s book, The Rise of Sivagami.

Filmmaker Rajamouli, in a statement, expressed his joy over the adaptation of his epic films.

“The world of Baahubali is extensive and immersive with strong characters and larger than life kingdoms. The films Baahubali -The Beginning and The Conclusion, are from one story set in this world and more dramatic stories were broadly conceived while building the universe. The Baahubali Series, a prequel to the films, is one such story. I am very excited that this is being adapted as a Netflix Original Series. With Netflix as our partner, we have the opportunity to create a rich and riveting series and take this quintessential Indian epic to the world, which is very gratifying to me as a story-teller.”

Fans have since expressed their excitement over the series.

This is going to be a huge conquering element down the South for @NetflixIndia #Sivagami series with a top leading actress playing the younger age of #RamyaKrishnan. World before #Baahubali https://t.co/rbvkneZFBj

— Richard Mahesh R (@richard_mahesh) August 2, 2018

The Rise of Sivagami is being turned into a series! Rejoice, #Baahubali fans! https://t.co/VQq9FIdzyt

— Bohni Bandyopadhyay (@Bohni) August 2, 2018

This.😊
Baahubali Before the beginning 2O18 Netflix Series Official announcement.😊
From the stable of director SS Rajamouli.😊
From before Amarendra Baahubali’s reign as king comes a tale of power|politics and intrigue of Queen Sivagamis… https://t.co/9566C89dPj

— Emil Mathew (@emilmathewjohn) August 2, 2018

Oh YES! Netflix Orders Prequel Series to Indian Epic ‘Baahubali’ based on book “The Rise of Sivagami” https://t.co/4AGe0Bf5Ib

— N J🌟💥 (@Nilzrav) August 2, 2018