It's likely the biggest TV series of all time, but what exactly do we know about Amazon's developing prequel to The Lord Of The Rings? Read on for all the information released so far, and bookmark this page for future Empire updates...
What Is Amazon's Lord Of The Rings Series?
Well for a start, and just to be completely clear, it isn't a remake / new version of The Lord Of The Rings. This is The Rings of Power, a prequel taking place thousands of years earlier. And let's say it's "extrapolated" rather than adapted from Tolkien's work.
It's already the most expensive TV series ever mounted: it cost Amazon $250m to simply buy the rights. By the time production finishes on the first season, the show will be well on its way to having cost a billion dollars, if it hasn't surpassed that already. And the streaming platform has committed to at least five seasons of the show, plus a spin-off.
What Is The Storyline In The Rings Of Power?
Specifics about the storylines are currently being guarded by a giant spider in the deepest dungeons of Barad-dûr. But Amazon has teased a few details that allow some educated guesses.
Thanks to a series of maps that, starting in February 2019, Amazon began releasing on Twitter, we know that the series takes place during the Second Age of Middle-earth. This is a roughly 3500-year period that begins with the Valar banishing Morgoth into the Void, and ends with Isildur and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men defeating Sauron. Amazon accompanying its maps with lines from the "one ring to rule them all" poem suggested that the series might concern itself with the original forging of the Rings of Power. The first teaser trailer, along with the reveal of the actual title, confirmed this. So we've read and seen The Lord of the Rings, which is about the One Ring. Amazon's series is about the rest of them.
"This is a title that we imagine could live on the spine of a book next to J.R.R. Tolkien’s other classics," said showrunners J.D. Payne & Patrick McKay. "The Rings of Power unites all the major stories of Middle-earth’s Second Age: the forging of the rings, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, the epic tale of Númenor, and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. Until now, audiences have only seen on-screen the story of the One Ring – but before there was one, there were many… and we’re excited to share the epic story of them all."
Another significant detail on the maps is the existence of Númenor. This is Tolkien's equivalent of the Atlantis myth: an island, inhabited by the revered Dúnedain civilisation, that ultimately collapsed into the sea. Its survivors formed the kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor.
Some early scuttlebutt suggested that the series would be a prequel about The Lord Of The Rings' ranger Aragorn. This has now been roundly discredited – in this timeline Aragorn won't be born for thousands of years – but if the Númenor theory turns out to be correct, you can see where the confusion might have arisen. Aragorn was the last of the Dúnedain, so a Númenor narrative would be dealing with his ancestors.
Will The Rings Of Power Adapt Elements Of Tolkien's Silmarillion And Unfinished Tales?
Interesting question. As we understand it so far, Amazon's rights to Tolkien's work are the same rights that producer Saul Zaentz bought in the 1970s, leading both to Ralph Bakshi's animated Lord Of the Rings and eventually to Peter Jackson's films. These rights only include material from The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit. So anything that's mentioned in those books (including Lord Of the Rings' lengthy appendices) is fair game, but anything exclusive to The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, or Christopher Tolkien's 12-volume History of Middle Earth, is off limits. So the Amazon series probably can't touch The Fall of Gondolin, for example. But Númenor is fine. However, some recent reports suggest that the relationship between the new production and the Tolkien estate has been good enough that the latter have allowed some leeway. So we may see some encroachment on the strict letter of The Silmarillion after all.
Still, rather than straight adaptation, what we're looking at in practice is largely new stories written within the parameters of Tolkien's legendarium: think of how the recent video games Shadow Of Mordor and Shadow Of War have worked within the existing mythology. The Tolkien Estate's Matt Galsor has talked of the series comprising "previously unexplored stories based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s original writings," while Amazon's own PR blurb describes "new storylines." But the Tolkien estate will be on hand to make sure nothing in the Amazon series contradicts anything Tolkien wrote. Everything has to fit.
"The Tolkien estate will insist that the main shape of the Second Age is not altered," said early series advisor and Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey (see below). "Sauron invades Eriador, is forced back by a Númenórean expedition, returns to Númenor. There he corrupts the Númenóreans and seduces them to break the ban of the Valar. All this, the course of history, must remain the same. But you can add new characters and ask a lot of questions, like: What has Sauron done in the meantime? Where was he after Morgoth was defeated? Theoretically, Amazon can answer these questions by inventing the answers, since Tolkien did not describe it. But it must not contradict anything which Tolkien did say."
Will Any Familiar Characters Appear In The Rings Of Power?
It isn't impossible. The Lord Of The Rings takes place in the Third Age, thousands of years after the timeline of the series. So most of the characters won't have been born yet... but others are long lived enough to make appearances: the elves like Galadriel and Elrond, for example (some reports have suggested Morfydd Clark is playing the young Galadriel, but this remains very much unconfirmed). Ian McKellen has said he's up for returning. "Gandalf is over 7000 years old," the actor told Graham Norton on his BBC Radio 2 show, "so I'm not too old!"
Is Peter Jackson involved with Amazon's Lord Of The Rings series?
He recently told Empire that he definitely isn't – "although I can understand why people might think I would be" – but rumours persist that he is. It seems pretty clear that, over about 23 hours of film and 15 years, Peter Jackson has said all he has to say on the subject of Middle-earth. But it's not unbelievable that he might have had the odd conversation with the new showrunners and offered some thoughts, officially or otherwise.
Who Is Starring In The Rings Of Power?
While Amazon has yet to confirm any character details, the company used the Television Critics Winter Press Tour in January 2020 to announce the initial main cast for the show. And they are....
Robert Aramayo
Owain Arthur
Nazanin Boniadi
Tom Budge
Morfydd Clark
Ismael Cruz Córdova
Ema Horvath
Markella Kavenagh
Joseph Mawle
Tyroe Muhafidin
Sophia Nomvete
Megan Richards
Dylan Smith
Charlie Vickers
Daniel Weyman
And we also know, thanks to his being extremely indiscreet on Radio 4, that Lenny Henry is playing a Harfoot (a sort of photo-Hobbit).
Who Is Directing The Rings Of Power?
The only director announced so far is J.A. Bayona, who will shoot the first two episodes. He'll also act as an executive producer. Bayona's most recent film was Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. His previous work includes devastating tsunami drama The Impossible, emotional fantasy-drama A Monster Calls, Guillermo Del Toro-produced gothic horror The Orphanage, and the first two instalments of Penny Dreadful in 2014. “J.R.R. Tolkien created one of the most extraordinary and inspiring stories of all time, and as a lifelong fan it is an honor and a joy to join this amazing team,” he said. “I can’t wait to take audiences around the world to Middle-earth and have them discover the wonders of the Second Age, with a never before seen story.”
“We have been great admirers of J.A.’s work for years," said showrunners Patrick McKay and John D. Payne, "and know that his epic, cinematic, and deeply heartfelt aesthetic is the perfect sensibility to bring Middle-earth to life anew.”
Who Is Writing The Rings Of Power?
Writing partnership Patrick McKay and John D. Payne are, as we said, the showrunners. "We feel like Frodo, setting out from the Shire, with a great responsibility in our care," they said in a statement. "It is the beginning of the adventure of a lifetime." They'll be assisted by Game Of Thrones writer Bryan Cogman, who seems to be acting as a consultant rather than a screenwriter per se.
Elsewhere on the writing staff we've got 10 Cloverfield Lane's Lindsey Weber, Game Of Thrones' Bruce Richmond, Boardwalk Empire's Gene Kelly, Amazon's former head of genre Tal Yguado, Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul writer Gennifer Hutchinson, The Sopranos' Jason Cahill, Stranger Things' Justin Doble, Toy Story 4 co-writer Stephany Folsom, The Aviator's Ron Ames, Hannibal's Helen Shang and erstwhile editor Glenise Mullins.
Who Else Is Involved In The Rings Of Power?
The other crew members we know of so far are costume designer Kate Hawley, Oscar-winning production designer Rick Heinrichs, fellow Oscar-winning VFX supervisor Jason Smith, executive producer Belén Atienza, artist/illustrator John Howe (who worked on all of Peter Jackson's Lord Of The Rings movies), and the aforementioned Tom Shippey, an academic whose books include The Road To Middle Earth.
"This team is our Fellowship," said Payne and McKay, "assembled from around the world, all walking the road together to try and accomplish something far greater than any of us could on our own. We feel humbled and extremely lucky to be surrounded by such talent."
When Is The Rings Of Power Released?
The multi-season drama will premiere exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries around the world in multiple languages on Friday, 2 September 2022, with new episodes available weekly.
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