J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are considered by many to be the greatest and most influential fantasy series of all-time. After several adaptations of the source material, Amazon is set to bring the franchise back to the screen with a live-action TV show, currently known just as Lord of the Rings.
Here's what we know so far about Amazon's adaptation of Lord of the Rings, including the series' story and release date.
The Lord of the Rings will actually take place thousands of years before the events of that titular story. In the timeline of Middle-earth, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place at the end of the Third Age, while the Amazon series occurs during the Second Age, an era which spans over 3,000 years. Tolkien's The Silmarillion occurs during this period, and it is also during this time that Sauron creates the One Ring.
While Amazon paid $250 million for the television rights, the Tolkien estate has many restrictions surrounding what can be shown. The Lord of the Rings is only allowed to take place during the Second Age, and the canon of that age cannot be altered whatsoever. Gaps between major events in The Silmarillion that are not described by Tolkien can be filled in by the show.
The full synopsis for the series can be found below:
Amazon Studios’ forthcoming series brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth’s history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness. Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.
J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay will serve as showrunners for The Lord of the Rings.
Cast members include Game of Thrones veterans Robert Aramayo and Joseph Mawle. Other cast members include Owain Arthur (Hard Sun), Nazanin Boniadi (Hotel Mumbai), Tom Budge (Gallipoli), Morfydd Clark (Crawl), Ismael Cruz Cordova (Miss Bala), Ema Horvath (The Gallows: Act II) and Markella Kavenagh (The Gloaming.) Actors like Boniadi and Cordova will bring some long awaited diversity to Middle Earth. While none of the show's characters have been confirmed, it is said that Mawle will be playing the main villain, Aramayo will be the series' lead and Clark will be playing a younger version of Galadriel.
At the time of last update, Lord of the Rings does not have a trailer. However, Amazon has released its first image from the series, which you can see above. This article will be updated when a trailer is released.
After buying the TV rights in November 2017, development of the series began in July 2018. After casting, filming began on the show in February 2020 in Auckland, New Zealand; however, like most film and TV shows, production of the series was put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Production later resumed in fall 2020. Following those setbacks, The Lord of the Rings is set to premiere on Amazon Prime on Sept. 2, 2022. A second season is in the works.
This article will be updated as more information becomes available.
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