Are you a fan of “The Lord of the Rings”? Are you aware of a TV show being developed by Amazon?
Check this out.
J. R. R. Tolkien’s novel The Lord of the Rings will be the basis for a new television series.
It is set in the Second Age of Middle-earth before the events of the Lord of the Rings novel and films, and was created by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay for the streaming service Prime Video. The series is created by Amazon Studios in collaboration with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins, and New Line Cinema.
We’ve already had two film trilogies based on Tolkien’s literary universe – one of which is clearly superior to the other – but this is the first time a live-action TV show based on Tolkien’s literary universe has been attempted.
Although its premiere is still a ways off, there’s plenty of details about its cast, production, possible storyline, setting, and other aspects to consider online.
The most recent details come from an interview with cast member Morfydd Clark, who hinted at the possibility of additional seasons if Lord of the Rings season 1 is as successful as Amazon hopes.
Below, you’ll find sections devoted to the most interesting news and rumors, such as a potential release date, other casting news, and more.
So, without further ado, let’s dive into Amazon’s Lord of the Rings.
Release date:
If filming is completed within the next few months, the TV show will premiere in Q4 2021. If Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series premiered during the winter TV season, it would be well-timed. On December 10, it will be 20 years since The Fellowship of the Ring was released in theaters, so scheduling the Lord of the Rings TV premiere for that date will be a nice touch. But it all, depends on how long the filmmaking process takes.
Morfydd Clark, who will play a young Galadriel in Amazon’s Lord of the Rings adaptation, recently spoke with Esquire about her role in the adaptation. Clark said she would be filming in New Zealand for “a few months” before returning to the United States. Clark also seems to have admitted that she was signed on for five seasons of Amazon’s production, which corresponds to rumors that Amazon has a five-season plan in place.
Cast:
Morfydd Clark (young Galadriel)
Simon Merrells (Trevyn)
Markella Kavenagh (Tyra)
Lloyd Owen (Loda)
Will Poulter (Beldor)
Joseph Mawle (Oren)
Additionally, Amazon Studios revealed 20 additional cast members for the Lord of the Rings TV show in December (h/t Deadline).
Sir Lenny Henry, Maxim Baldry from Years and Years, Maxine Cunliffe from Divinity, Trystan Gravelle from A Discovery of Witches, and Cynthia Addai-Robinson from Strength. There are key Second Age players, including elven High King Gil-galad, elven smith Celebrimbor, dwarf King Durin III, and Numenorian King Elendil, who haven’t had their castings revealed yet either. (Also see article on msn.com, see Sources/Further Reading below for link).
Events That Could Be Seen on the Show:
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of Sauron will be set during Middle-Second Earth’s Age, which lasted nearly 3,500 years and ended with Sauron’s defeat at the hands of a human-elf alliance. Since this is the fight that opens Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, it’s likely that we’ll see it adapted again in the Amazon series at some point.
Possible: The Rise Of Númenor, Sauron Forging The One Ring, Sauron Settles In Mordor, Sauron’s War and the Elves, Elrond Building Rivendell, Origins of The Ringwraiths, Fall Of Númenor, Isildur’s Heroics & Foundations of Gondor, The Last Alliance, and so much more.
How many seasons are there?:
According to a 2018 report from IGN, Amazon has committed to creating five seasons of its Lord of the Rings series. Just two of those seasons have been greenlit as of November 2019, according to a GameSpot report. Future installments seem to be dependent on the Tolkien estate as well, with Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey stating in a 2019 Engadget article that the author’s estate has the power to veto anything that deviates too far from Middle-Earth’s lore.
How much did it cost to make?
For the rights to adapt J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings into an epic TV series for its Amazon Prime Video streaming service, Amazon paid hundreds of millions of dollars.
The site has also committed to five seasons of the show, indicating that this is a significant, long-term commitment. And now we’re getting a sense of how significant the investment is.
“Amazon is going to spend around $650 million in season one alone,” says Minister for Economic Development and Tourism Stuart Nash, according to an article in Morning Report (via The Hollywood Reporter) about the investment Amazon is making in New Zealand to film the project there. The figure is in New Zealand dollars; when translated to US dollars, it equals $465 million for only one season of the show. Season 1 is expected to cost about $58 million per episode, based on the eight episodes scheduled.
(To put it in perspective, The Fellowship of the Ring cost about $90 million.)
Amazon would be eligible for a tax rebate from the New Zealand government, which could be significant in the region of $100 million considering the scale of the volume.
Even with the rebate, you’re still looking at one of the most expensive television shows ever produced. The Lord of the Rings might be a $1 billion television series if Amazon produces five seasons on this scale.
Sources/Further Reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings_(TV_series)
https://www.techradar.com/news/lord-of-the-rings-on-amazon
https://screenrant.com/lord-rings-amazon-tv-show-second-age-events-plot/
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