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Everything We Know About Amazon’s LORD OF THE RINGS
Prequel Series So Far
EVERYTHING WE KNOW ABOUT AMAZON’S LORD OF THE RINGS PREQUEL SERIES
SO FAR
Is a Lord of the Rings prequel a good idea? That’s a question I’ve
been asking myself since Amazon announced a new TV show based on
J.R.R. Tolkein’s seminal series in early 2017. On one hand, a
return to Middle-earth sounds like the perfect escapism from
today’s world. Peter Jackson‘s original trilogy, based on Tolkein’s
three Lord of the Rings novels—The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two
Towers, and The Return of the King—was, by my estimation, just
about perfect, and still takes up valuable real estate in my heart.
Nostalgia runs super deep for the source material, so revisiting
Tolkein’s lush fantasy realm would be a real treat for fans like
me.
But then I remember Jackson’s overstuffed Hobbit trilogy, and worry
that any attempt to recapture that initial magic may be a fool’s
errand. Indeed, Amazon’s proposed new series sounds almost too
ambitious, and given the sped-up production timeline and mounting
obstacles, it could be a massive failure in the making. Or it could
be a Game of Thrones-sized cultural event, a show that busts
through the gates and takes everyone by surprise. One thing remains
true: I am fascinated by what this thing has the potential be, and
every new announcement gets me even more excited. If they pull it
off, this could be the biggest thing in TV.
Here’s everything we know about Amazon’s Lord of the Rings
prequel series so far.
AMAZON PAID $250 MILLION FOR THE RIGHTS.
After a bidding war with Netflix, Amazon finally obtained rights
to Tolkien’s series for a cool quarter of a billion dollars back in
2017, a negotiation brokered between Tolkein’s estate, book
publisher HarperCollins, and New Line Cinema, which produced
Jackson’s films. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the massive
deal includes a five-season commitment and states that the show
must be in production within two years. It’s been almost two years
since the purchase, which means we can likely expect a slew of new
information to pour in soon.
IT COULD BE THE MOST EXPENSIVE SHOW IN TV HISTORY.
That $250 million rights package was already massive, but once
production and casting costs are factored in, THR estimates that
this thing will cost over $1 billion. When courting the book
rights, Amazon chief Jeff Bezos allegedly told his staff he wanted
to find the next Game of Thrones; dumping billions of dollars into
another beloved fantasy property is one way to do that, we guess.
But will it pay off? That’s a steep price tag for a show that
hasn’t even gotten off the ground.
IT WILL FOCUS ON YOUNG ARAGORN.
Last May, Lord of the Rings fan site TheOneRing.net reported that
“multiple sources” confirmed to them that Amazon’s prequel series
would focus on a young Aragorn, Viggo Mortensen‘s character in the
film trilogy. They went on to state that the series will not cover
the War of the Ring, as featured in Jackson’s trilogy, but would
instead draw inspiration from the book’s appendices, which get into
Aragorn’s family history and his role as the heir of Isildur and
the rightful king of Gondor.
Embedded video
TheOneRing.net
@theoneringnet
[BREAKING] We have confirmed from multiple sources that
@AmazonStudios new billion-dollar #LOTR series will open its first
season centered on a young Aragorn.
Though some of Aragorn’s appendices stories made it into
Jackson’s films—namely, his relationship with Arwen (Liv
Tyler)—there’s plenty of ground left to cover. Aragorn is a
fascinating focal point for a series, as he remains a mostly
mysterious figure even as a main character in the films; his
disguise as the ranger Strider masques his noble ties, which harken
deep into Middle Earth lore. As TheOneRing.net speculates:
We could, in flashbacks, learn essentials about the men of
#Arnor, sister kingdom in the north to #Gondor, and how the
surviving #Dunedain became a community of Rangers, seeking to
protect the north from incursions of the Witch-king of Angmar.
Just where the series begins and ends is anyone’s guess.
Considering Aragorn’s reign as King Elessar Telcontar continues
after the main events of the War of the Rings, it’s even possible
Mortensen could return to the role eventually.
PETER JACKSON MIGHT BE INVOLVED.
Creatively speaking, the only writers currently attached to the
project are John P. Dayne and Patrick McKay, who are acting as
showrunners, according to Deadline. The duo were supposedly
recommended by J.J. Abrams, who worked with them on the upcoming
Star Trek 4. The series will have a full writers room, so we can
expect more names to pop up as the pre-production process rolls
along
One name that has been tossed around is none other than Peter
Jackson. According to Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, the
company has been in talks with Jackson about his possible
involvement in the series. That could mean the visual continuity of
the series will be in step with what Jackson and his team created.
That would make the best sense; if you want to tap into the well of
nostalgia, and if you’re already in coordination with the original
film studio, might as well go all in.
We don’t know what role Jackson would play in the new series,
though executive producer and creative consultant is a safe
bet.
Salke has also said she’s in talks with Tolkien’s grandson,
Simon, whose involvement actually means a great deal. When the film
trilogy was announced, Simon had agreed to cooperate with the
filmmakers, which caused a riff between him and his father,
Christopher, who did not wish to associate and who cut Simon off
from the family inheritance. Though the two were briefly estranged,
they have since reconciled. It’s unclear how the elder Tolkien
feels about Simon’s involvement in this new series, and just what
the family is providing to Amazon, but it’s good to know the estate
is seemingly more on board this time around.
NEW ZEALAND MIGHT ONCE AGAIN PLAY MIDDLE EARTH.
Speaking of visual continuity, Salke also said the show might
head to New Zealand, where Jackson’s films were shot, once
production is underway. “I think we might be in New Zealand,” she
told Deadline last June. “I don’t know, but we’re going to have to
go somewhere interesting that could provide those locations in a
really authentic way, because we want it to look incredible.
There’s no shortage of ambition for the project. We’ll go where we
need to go to make it happen.”
THE SERIES SHOULD DEBUT IN 2021.
Though there’s no hard date yet, Salke told THR that Amazon hopes
to have the Lord of the Rings prequel on the air by 2021. In just
two short years, we could be saying hello to the next all-time
great fantasy TV series. For now, I’m still holding my breath
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