Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings series: release date, trailer and cast
For much of the last decade, TV producers have been desperate to find “the next Game of Thrones,” and now Amazon apparently believes it has found it: The Lord of the Rings.
The retail giant has reportedly spent an incredible $250 million to secure the rights to an ongoing TV show set in Middle-earth with a multi-season commitment and spin-off potential, all streaming exclusively on its own Amazon Prime Video. streaming platform.
The show now also has an official title – The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power – and its first full trailer ahead of its debut this fall.
Here’s everything we know about the series so far. If you like fantasy, we also have a similar review of The Witcher.
When will The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power be released?
We finally have a release date for the new Lord of the Rings television series: September 2, 2022. The announcement was made on Twitter along with a first look at the new series:
This date is well after the original intention, which was the end of 2021. However, this was to be expected, given all the production delays due to the pandemic.
It definitely won’t be a one-hit wonder. Amazon has already ordered a second season of the series, which will replace the classic New Zealand filming location with the UK, much to the dismay of many fans.
It will be exclusive to Amazon Prime Video, Amazon’s rival to Netflix. You can get Prime Video as one of several benefits of a shared Prime subscription, as well as other benefits including free next day delivery and Prime Music. Prime usually costs £79 a year, but you can always try it for free with a free trial.
The Hollywood Reporter reported that Amazon spent a whopping $465 million on the first season alone, making it one of the most expensive first seasons of a TV show ever made.
Watch the trailers for Ring of Power
The first full trailer for Ring of Power is here, and it’s full of action. Watch right now:
Prior to that, we had a short teaser that set the tone for the show:
And up what we got a title that doesn’t include any actual footage, but is a cool enough clip to watch on its own:
There are also several posters with close-ups of people’s hands – take a look at all of them below:
The cast and crew of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Thanks to some recent announcements, we now have a much better idea of who we’ll be seeing with pointed ears or an elongated beard for the show.
Aramayo will replace Will Poulter, who pulled out due to scheduling conflicts. He will star alongside Morfydd Clark, who will play the commander of the northern armies, Galadriel, the younger version of the character played by Cate Blanchett.
Joseph Mole, best known for his role as Benjen Stark in the fantasy giant Game of Thrones, has been cast as the series’ main villain, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He’s not the only GOT graduate on board, as Robert Aramayo was also cast as the young Elrond.
Other actors featured for the show include (deep breath): Markella Cavena (Tyra), Owain Arthur (Prince Durin IV), Nazanin Boniadi (Bronwyn), Ismael Cruz Córdoba (Arondir), Ema Horvath, Tyro Muhafidin, Sofia Nomwete (Disa ). , Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers (Halbrand), Daniel Weyman, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Maxime Baldry, Ian Blackburn, Kip Chapman, Anthony Crum, Maxine Cunliffe, Tristan Gravelle, Sir Lenny Henry, Tusita Jayasundera, Fabian McCallum, Simon Merrells, Jeff Morrell, Peter Mullan, Lloyd Owen, Augustus Prue, Alex Tarrant, Leon Wadham, Benjamin Walker and Sarah Zwangobani.
Noteworthy are Peter Mullan (recently seen in Westworld) and British legend Sir Lenny Henry, who will play the unnamed elder.
Tom Budge was in the cast but is now gone. In his Instagram post, he revealed that he had creative differences with the team, so he decided to part ways. He is the second main character to leave after Will Poulter, although it is presumed that Poulter left due to scheduling disruptions.
We also know a little about who will be behind the cameras. The first official announcement came in July 2018, when it was revealed that writing duo JD Payne and Patrick McKay would be “developing” the series.
They were involved in Disney’s Jungle Cruise adaptation of the film by Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, and were also busy writing the script for the untitled Star Trek 4 for producer J.J. Abrams.
Perhaps more interestingly, in July 2019, it was announced that Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom director J.A. Bayona would direct the first two episodes of the series, with the remainder being executive produced.
You can find even more of the crew in what may be the first ever “crew trailer” for the TV show that Amazon itself has announced as a reveal of its Brotherhood:
Wayne Che Yip will direct four episodes and serve as an executive producer on the series. Yip has worked on The Hunters, Preacher, Utopia and Doctor Who, so he has a lot of experience with the fantasy genre.
Veteran fantasy director Charlotte Brandstrom is also set to direct two episodes. Brandström has previously worked on films such as The Outsider, Madam Secretary, Jupiter’s Legacy, Outlander, and The Witcher.
Finally, one of the original film’s most iconic characters returns: New Zealand. Amazon has confirmed that the new show will follow in Jackson’s footsteps by filming him in the southern hemisphere, so the scenery should be as epic as we’d expect – although it moved to the UK in season 2, which will have to be done. do as a backup.
What is The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power about?
The first thing we know is that the show “will explore new storylines leading up to J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring,” according to Amazon, which we now know means “before the Hobbit” and ” Lord of the Rings.”
In a series of tweets, Amazon teased the show’s setting using lines from the famous poem “One Ring to Rule All”.
culminating in a tweet who simply said, “Welcome to the Second Age.” When his hiring was announced, director J.A. Bayona later confirmed that audiences would “discover the wonders of the Second Age with a story never seen before.”
The teaser tweets also featured a map, which you can find below:
For those who don’t know, the “Second Age” is the period in the history of Middle-earth when Elrond founded Rivendell and Sauron began to build his power base in Mordor and forge the Ring of Omnipotence. He also saw him wage war on the elves and other races of Middle-earth not once, but twice – the last, including the battle in which the Ring was cut from his hand, immortalized in the prologue to the LotR films.
This is a period that lasts over three thousand years, and as you can see from the place names on the map, this Middle Earth is very different from what has been seen in movies so far, with different kingdoms, cultures and names.
Of particular note is the inclusion of the Isle of Numenor in the west – the location of a human civilization that was corrupted by Sauron in the Second Age and rebelled against the Valar – and eventually sank under water because of it long before the Hobbit event. This means he has never been seen on screen before.
The official teaser is supposed to depict the city of Valinor, home of the immortal Valar. Den of Geek pointed out that the gold and silver colored trees signify which period is set in this image – the primal period. This is pre-Second Age, so it’s likely that it’s still taken from the flashback/prologue.
The trailer shows a human city located on the waterfront, which fans suspect is Numenor.
We have the official synopsis for the show, which was originally posted by TheOneRing.net and has now been confirmed by Amazon. You can read it below:
“Amazon Studios’ upcoming series brings the heroic tales of Middle-earth’s legendary Second Age to screen for the first time. Set thousands of years before the events of J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, this epic drama will take viewers to an era when great powers were born, kingdoms rose to glory and collapsed, unlikely heroes perished. tested, hope hung on the thinnest threads, and the greatest villain Tolkien ever wrote threatened to plunge the whole world into darkness.
“Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows a plethora of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront a long-awaited resurgence of evil in Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains to the majestic forests of the elven capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Numenor, and to the furthest corners of the map, these kingdoms and characters will leave a legacy that will live on long after they are gone.”
Amazon apparently “may use material from the films” and there’s even a chance that original director Peter Jackson will executive produce, so whatever happens will most likely exist in the same universe as the series movies instead of rebooting. it is completely.
Vanity Fair gave more hints as to who the show would follow: Galadriel, as commander of the armies of the north, and Halbrand, shipwrecked. The former fights for the future and is much more brash than her future self shown in the films (played by Cate Blanchett). However, Halbrand is on the run from his past.
The series will open with Galadriel’s struggle to survive on a raft in the stormy Broken Sea, a scene that was originally filmed just as the pandemic began to sweep the country. The official trailer also shows her climbing a frozen waterfall with a gold and silver dagger and riding.
Harfoot, the ancestors of the hobbits of that era, will also appear in Rings of Power. The series will be about “who divides the world of Middle-earth”, depicting forbidden relationships between elves, humans, arfuts and more.
Matt Galsor, spokesman for Tolkien Estate and Trust and HarperCollins, also clarified that Amazon will “bring to the screen previously unseen stories based on the original writings of J. R. R. Tolkien,” so we know it will draw at least in part on Tolkien’s own work.
There’s one big unadapted prequel, The Silmarillion, but since it’s more like a history book than a novel, it’s going to be difficult to adapt it to the current series. However, Amazon may see this as an inspiration.
There are also a number of published books based on Tolkien’s notes and unfinished works, such as The Children of Hurin or the Unfinished Tales collection. Anyone who wants to figure out what Amazon’s show will be covering could do worse than read all of these books, as it’s almost certain that Amazon will rely on one (or more) of them to tell its story.
We know that Amazon has signed on for multiple seasons, so they’re clearly confident in the series and also have the option of making a second spin-off series if all goes well.
