The Lord of the Rings at Amazon: Everything We Know About the Prequel TV Series

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• The Lord of the Rings at Amazon: Everything We Know About the Prequel TV Series

A Lord of the Rings TV show is in the works, but its release is likely in the future and beyond 2021. This comes despite the fact that New Zealand allows filmmakers to return to the country to resume filming. after the delays imposed by Covid-19. That said, given that Amazon spent a mammoth €250 million to create five seasons of riveting fantasy, we think it's going to be well worth the wait. In this era of the golden age of television and the streaming wars being waged between spectacular wrestlers, the Lord of the Rings TV show may be the next series to rule them all. Amazon is undoubtedly aiming to own the next Game of Thrones (although there is a Game of Thrones prequel on the way), but few sources hold as strong a hold on the popular imagination as Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings TV show. The Lord of the Rings will not recap Peter Jackson's iconic films between 2001 and 2003. We now know that the series will take place in the third age, a period of 3.441 years before the events of the films (which take place in the third age). Like Frodo and his fellow hobbits, Amazon always begins his journey to bring The Lord of the Rings to life for the small screen. We know enough about the decor, the creative team, and when the TV series is likely to hit our screens to be excited, and you can start your adventure next.

Come to the point

• What is it? Amazon television adaptation of JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth novel series
• Where can i see him? Amazon Prime Video
• When will it come out? Probably 2021
• How much did Amazon pay for The Lord of the Rings? € 250 million for rights alone, and that's before going into production
• Are the Lord of the Rings movies on Amazon Prime? Yes

Lord of the Rings TV Show Release Date

When will The Lord of the Rings TV show hit our screens? Production resumed in July 2020 following a coronavirus delay, but has since resumed in New Zealand, the country that allowed international film crews to continue working. This delay, plus the expected scale of the series, means the series is unlikely to be ready to air before 2021. That's obviously a long lead, but Amazon's ambitious plans for the series should mean you're in for a lot of frenzy when land. What an ambition. Amazon Tolkien consultant Tom Shippey said that 20 episodes are slated for the first season (via Deutsche Tolkien). If we assume a duration of 40 to 60 minutes per episode, a lot of television must be filmed. (And you thought the movies were long!)

History of the television show The Lord of the Rings: what we know

A map of Earth from the middle of the TV show (Image credit: Amazon) Details are still a bit scant about the content of the series, with the exception of events that take place during the Second Age, which it covers the rise of Sauron, the Dark Lord who made the legendary ring of power, which is destroyed at the end of Return of the King. Elijah told IndieWire that he thought calling it Lord of the Rings technically misleading, "the material they work on exists chronologically further back in history in the Lord of the Rings or Middle-earth lore than all the characters depicted in The Lord of the Rings. It looks more like the Silmarillion era." However, Lords of the Rings has much more name recognition than Tolkien's mythopoetic collection. Either way, we hope Amazon considers making all five seasons it's entitled to, which means we could get a story on a truly epic scale, spanning years, decades, or even centuries of magical Middle Earth. Tolkien's domain naturally protects his intellectual property, with the power to prevent Amazon from modifying any of the canonical events described in Tolkien's writings (via AV Club). However, Tolkien researcher Tom Shippey, who is acting as a consultant on the TV series, suggests that Amazon will have a blank enough list to work with: "Tolkien wrote some of it, but for the second age, the information that we have is a three-page calendar in the appendices of the Lord of the Rings and the Númenor King List and a bit more material in the Unfinished Histories, but that's about it" (via Deutsche Tolkien). (All you budding Tolkien cartographers can also take a look at this Amazon-published map from the Middle-earth series.)

Cast of the TV show The Lord of the Rings: Who's Involved?

These are two faces you won't see (Image Credit: Warner Bros) Let's be clear: You're unlikely to see any returning faces from Peter Jackson's trilogy. Given the timeline of the series' establishment, most of the characters in the films have yet to be born. Some of the older characters like Gandalf or Galadriel, or even Sauron, could hypothetically appear. There were rumors about the series starring a young Aragorn (per Tolkien fan site theonering.net), though this has been contradicted by the officially announced period. We hope the show finds interesting ways to connect with elements of Tolkein's world that viewers are already familiar with, but given the different production team and previous setup, we think it's unlikely that an actor will reprise the role of him.

Bandersnatch's Will Poulter left the series due to scheduling conflicts (Image Credit: Netflix) However, we do know some interesting news about the writers and directors involved. JA Bayona (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) will serve as executive producer and will also direct the first two episodes of the series (via Variety). Production design will come courtesy of Rick Heinrichs, who worked on the visually stunning Star Wars: The Last Jedi, while Game of Thrones writer Brian Cogman will consult on the series. JD Payne and Patrick McKay will serve as showrunners, after working together on the scripts for Star Trek: Beyond and the canceled Star Trek 4 movie, as well as Godzilla Vs King Kong coming in 2020. When it comes to writing chops, it seems that the series will have a lot. Hannibal's Helen Shang, Stranger Things' Justin Dohle and Toy Story 4's Stephany Folsom help restore life to the rich web of Middle-earth. Then there's Gennifr Hutchinson, known for his scribble script on Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, no less. You can watch an introductory video from more of the creative team in the video below:

Meet our community pic.twitter.com/Npouu6ZlRt27 July 2019 There will be no shortage of acting talent either, with long-time actor Maxim Baldry playing a major (and unspecified) role, and Morfydd Clark, who plays Sister Clara in the television series His Dark Materials. Bandersnatch's Will Poulter, previously attached to the series in a major role, withdrew due to scheduling conflicts. In January 2020, we got a host of new actor names, including GoT's Joseph Mawle, Nocturnal Animals' Robert Aramayo, and Ray Donovan's Ismael Cruz Cordova. Other named actors include Owain Arthur (The Palace), Nazanin Boniadi (Hotel Mumbai), Tom Budge (The Proposition), Morfydd Clark (Crawl), Ismael Cruz Cordova (Ray Donovan), Ema Horvath (The Gallows Act II), Markella Kavenagh (Romper Stomper), Joseph Mawle (Game of Thrones), Charlie Vickers (Medici), Daniel Weyman (Gentleman Jack), Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, and Dylan Smith (via GameSpot). We may know the names, but we don't yet know what role they will play in this latest version of Middle-earth. However, Deadline reports that Aramayo will play the lead role of Will Poulter, Beldor and Variety believe that Kavanegh will play a character named Tyra. Then there's the Big Bad series, Oren, which THR says Rawle will play. We also know, and probably could already assume, that we'll see funny actors as monsters. But this was confirmed during a casting in search of "furry" people to embody beings like orcs. Other desired characteristics include: "overbite, facial burns, long thin limbs, deep cheekbones, facial wrinkles, acne scars, prominent ears, bulbous or interesting noses, small eyes, large eyes, thin faces, missing bones ".

Lord of the Rings on Amazon: How to Look

Amazon Prime Video will host the series, but you'll need to subscribe to watch LOTR (Image Credit: Shutterstock) Amazon's huge spending to acquire the rights makes a lot of sense when you consider the Amazon ecosystem as a whole, because anyone who wants to stream the TV show you will have to sign up for Amazon Prime to do so. An Amazon Prime subscription ($12.99 / £7.99 / AU$6.99 per month) will get you access to the entire Amazon Prime video library, which you can access via browsers, Smart TV apps, streaming devices like Fire TV Stick, or even apps for smartphones and tablets. Prime Video includes popular shows like The Boys, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, The Grand Tour, and Good Omens. Amazon doesn't have the reach of Netflix, but there are good titles, as well as access to the Amazon Music streaming service and a host of other membership benefits. You also benefit from faster delivery, often within a day, as well as discounts and exclusive offers for being a Prime subscriber. You can see everything you get for the service, and whether it's worth it, in our Amazon Prime review.

Will the Lord of the Rings show be in 4K / HDR?

You can be sure there will be a show with a show as expensive as this (Image Credit: New Line Cinema/WingNut Films) Just as amazing as LOTR's Peter Jackson film trilogy, with The Fellowship of the Ring winning an Oscar for the best cinematography, it's been over a decade since the last film hit theaters. Video recording equipment has improved considerably, and there is the potential for a real visual revisit of Middle-earth. We strongly believe that Amazon will film the show in 4K Ultra HD resolution (3840 x 2160 pixels), to show scenery and characters in more detail than HD movies. Amazon was also an early supporter of HDR (high dynamic range), at least before Netflix, and we expect to see streaming in the HDR10+ format used on the Amazon platform for improved contrast and vibrant colors. Note that you'll need an HDR-capable 4K TV to take full advantage of these enhanced images.