Following Peter Jackson’s six enormously popular and award-winning films, fans will soon be able to return to Middle-earth in the forthcoming The Lord of the Rings series.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy is still a long way off, but we’re learning more and more about what to expect when it arrives next year.
So continue reading to learn everything you need to know about The Lord of the Rings on Amazon Prime Video.
What is the plot of The Lord of the Rings?
The yet-untitled The Lord of the Rings trilogy takes set during Middle-mythical earth’s Second Age. That is, it takes place thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s more well-known novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
According to Amazon, the series “will transport viewers to an era when 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 the entire world in darkness.”
As in past installments, a group of individuals (some familiar) will band together to combat an escalating evil. The Misty Mountains, the elf city of Lindon, and the island kingdom of Numenor are all mentioned in the story.
While season one wrapped production in New Zealand earlier this month, Amazon has released virtually nothing about the show’s narrative or characters.
When and where will it be available to watch?
The Lord of the Rings trilogy will be available exclusively on Amazon Prime Video in over 240 regions and countries.
The first episode will premiere on September 2, 2022, a little more than a year from today.
We may presumably expect a weekly episode release, like with previous Amazon Originals, although Amazon may choose a different path between now and then.
Who is involved?
J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay are the showrunners and executive producers. Some people are surprised by the selection of Payne and McKay. Prior to The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the two had almost no acknowledged film or television credits.
The two screenwriters are listed as uncredited writers for J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek Beyond on their IMDB accounts. Aside from that, there’s practically nothing there. According to reports, Abrams was one of several high-profile business individuals who recommended the team for the position.
Helen Shang, a co-producer, joins Payne and McKay on the writing team. Executive producer J.A. Bayona, co-executive producer Wayne Che Yip, and Charlotte Brändström are directing.
The cast of The Lord of the Rings is vast, but Amazon has remained tight-lipped regarding character names. Robert Aramayo plays Beldor, a youthful hero. Morfydd Clark plays Galadriel as a child. Trevyn is a character played by Simon Merrells.
The following actors have been confirmed:
- Robert Aramayo
- Owain Arthur
- Nazanin Boniadi
- Morfydd Clark
- Ismael Cruz Córdova
- Ema Horvath
- Markella Kavenagh
- Joseph Mawle
- Tyroe Muhafidin
- Sophia Nomvete
- Megan Richards
- Dylan Smith
- Charlie Vickers
- Daniel Weyman
- Cynthia Addai-Robinson
- Maxim Baldry
- Ian Blackburn
- Kip Chapman
- Anthony Crum
- Maxine Cunliffe
- Trystan Gravelle
- Lenny Henry
- Thusitha Jayasundera
- Fabian McCallum
- Simon Merrells
- Geoff Morrell
- Peter Mullan
- Lloyd Owen
- Augustus Prew
- Peter Tait
- Alex Tarrant
- Leon Wadham
- Benjamin Walker
- Sara Zwangobani
- Charles Edwards
- Will Fletcher
- Amelie Child-Villiers
- Beau Cassidy
Will there be further seasons?
The Lord of the Rings series will include five seasons, according to the present plan. The series is expected to cost $1 billion in total, making it the most costly series ever created.
A second season has already been bought by Amazon. Season two will shift production from New Zealand to the United Kingdom.
Amazon Studios is aiming to grow its productions in the United Kingdom, so locating its primary tentpole series there makes sense. Still, it’s an unusual and undoubtedly costly action, albeit it’s most likely motivated by some sort of long-term financial gain.
As of yet, Amazon has not established a date for season two’s production or distribution on its streaming service.
Is this a sequel to the previous films in the series?
The Lord of the Rings series appears to be a precursor to Tolkien’s writings rather than Peter Jackson’s films.
This makes sense because Jackson appears to be uninvolved. However, it is unclear what arrangements Amazon may have made or be prepared to make to connect this series with the existing films.
If they were related, it seems like Amazon would have acknowledged it by now. The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films were big, and they made a lot of money. That existing brand is most likely why Amazon is investing so heavily on the new program. So, while we can’t make any promises, don’t expect to see Elijah Wood or Ian McKellen.
Nonetheless, with season one being shot in New Zealand and an early series image appearing eerily similar, viewers will undoubtedly be able to draw the connections if they choose to conceive of The Lord of the Rings series as a precursor not only to the novels but also to the established film franchise. After all, it’s all going place thousands of years ago. It’s not canon, but you do you.
What can we expect from the Lord of the Rings?
The Lord of the Rings trilogy has been dubbed the most costly television series ever produced, so there’s a lot to live up to.
Amazon defeated Netflix in a bidding war for The Lord of the Rings television rights in 2017. It cost the business $250 million, which would have already made it an extremely expensive show. In addition, the budget for season one has been set at $465 million. That equates to more than $58 million each episode.
With that much money invested, the show had better be fantastic!
We have very little to go on, despite many speculations in the years after it was announced. As originally assumed, the series is not about a young Aragorn. Patton Oswalt will not play a young Gollum. It will not be a re-enactment of Peter Jackson’s trilogy. It will not be a prequel to current films, but rather a new interpretation of Tolkien’s material.
We do know who’s in it, and we can expect it to be aesthetically stunning like its predecessors.
That’s all we know about The Lord of the Rings series on Amazon, as well as some things we’d like to know.