The Lord of the Rings franchise won Oscars, launched careers, and created a whole new generation of J.R.R. Tolkien fans. While The Hobbit trilogy was less successful, Amazon and co-writers and showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne are clearly hoping their return to Middle-Earth in the upcoming LoTR TV series will be a blockbuster.

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The show is being made in a contractual agreement with Tolkien's estate, Harper Collins publishing, and New Line Cinema. So far, the first season is slated for a 2021 release.

A few recent announcements have stirred up fan interest again in what promises to be a lavish series with all new material from Tolkien’s Middle-Earth, a realm of elves, hobbits, humans, goblins, orcs, and other creatures.

A-scene-from-the-Lord-of-the-Rings

Cast And Filming Updates

Filming for the new series is taking place in New Zealand, the same locale used by Peter Jackson for all six of the previous movies – and where some of the original cast members were injured during production.

The first round of casting announcements included Morfydd Clark, known for her roles in Saint Maud and His Dark Materials. She is said to play a younger version of Galadriel, the role made famous by Cate Blanchett in the movies. Robert Aramayo played a young Ned Stark, and Joseph Mawle played Benjen Stark in Game of Thrones.

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Others attached to the series include Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Budge, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, and Daniel Weyman.

On December 3, the studio announced a number of new cast members, including Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Power, The Accountant), Maxim Baldry (Years and Years), Kip Chapman (Top of the Lake), Anthony Crum (The Wilds), Maxine Cunliffe and Leon Wadham from the Power Rangers franchise, Trystan Gravelle (The Terror), Sir Lenny Henry and Thusitha Jayasundera of Broadchurch, Fabian McCallum (You, Me & The Apocalypse), Simon Merrells (Knightfall),​ Geoff Morrell (Rake), Peter Mullan (Westworld), Lloyd Owen (Viva Laughlin), Augustus Prew (The Morning Show), Alex Tarrant (Filthy Rich), Benjamin Walker (Jessica Jones), Sara Zwangobani (Home and Away), and newcomer Ian Blackburn. Peter Tait, who played a Corsair of Umbar in Return of the King, also joins the cast.

Cate-Blanchett-as-Galadriel-in-The-Lord-of-the-Rings
Via IMDb

Showrunners/executive producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay are quoted in Hollywood Reporter.

"The world that J.R.R. Tolkien created is epic, diverse and filled with heart. These extraordinarily talented performers, hailing from across the globe, represent the culmination of a multiyear search to find brilliant and unique artists to bring that world to life anew. The international cast of Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings series is more than just an ensemble. It is a family. We are thrilled to welcome each of them to Middle-earth."

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The creative teams includes a number of familiar faces, introduced in a video last year and including Bryan Cogman, a consultant best known for his work on HBO's Game of Thrones, along with writers Justin Dohle (Stranger Things), Stephany Folsom (Toy Story 4), Gennifer Hutchinson (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul), and Helen Shang (Hannibal).

Notably, the list does not include director Peter Jackson.

The Story

For the first time, the Middle-earth saga will be extended beyond Tolkien’s books. The original LoTR movies covered the three books of the trilogy with Frodo Baggins at its center, while The Hobbit was extended from one book to three movies, with Bilbo Baggins as its protagonist.

Amazon Studios has confirmed that the new series will be set during The Second Age, which is spoken of but not shown during the previous films. Also called the Age of Númenor, it is a period covering 3,441 years before the events of The Fellowship of the Ring. That period includes the emergence of the kingdoms of men, elves, and dwarves, the creation of the rings, and the great battle with Sauron which the human and elf army almost lost.

Númenor is the home to Aragorn's people, and its story of Númenor is in some ways similar to the Atlantis myth. Sauron spreads his malignant evil influence throughout the island, home to a society of seafaring humans, and they invade the far West to found the kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor, which play key roles in the LoTR movies.

Númenor was created during the First Age as a reward and refuge for the Men who had fought with the Elves against the Dark Lord Morgoth. The humans who lived there have much longer lives, as Men are actually half elf, and not ordinary mortals. That’s why Aragorn is different from the other humans of Middle-earth. Sauron was Morgoth’s lieutenant.

Sauron-in-The-Lord-of-the-Rings-

Other than Galadriel, reports say the half-elf Elrond, who was played by Hugo Weaving in the films, will also appear in the series. He comes from the First Age era where Men and Elves intermarried. That means he’s also related to the kings of Númenor. Elrond created Rivendell for the Elves.

A Historic Budget For A Multi-Year Gamble

The contract with Tolkien’s estate, Harper Collins and New Line Cinema was said to have cost Amazon Studios $250 million alone. The budget for the series is rumored to be a whopping $1 billion, which would make it the largest budget for any television series in history.

A second series has already been confirmed, but sources believe the deal is most likely for five seasons, along with potentials for a spinoff or two.

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