Fans of the “Lord of the Rings” books and movies are thrilled that Amazon Studios has announced the upcoming fantasy series on the subject. Namely, the series will be a prequel to the “Lord of the Rings” that we know of. It will feature events in the Second Age of Middle-Earth, the period of the rise of the Sauron and the creation of One Ring. So, what do we know so far about the “Lord of the Rings” prequel series?
The budget, The Director and The Crew
Reportedly, the series would be expensive. The news broke out that Amazon paid some $250 million for rights only. If we add the money to hire the cast, the crew, the providing of the technical support, the estimates are the series could well cost around $1 billion.
The director onboard for the first two episodes is J.A. Bayona. He directed “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”, as well as the horror movie “The Orphanage”, dramas “The Impossible” (starring Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, and Tom Holland) and “The Monster Call” (starring Sigourney Weaver and Liam Neeson). Reportedly, Bayona stated: “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.”
The script is a work of the writing team including JD Payne, Patrick McKay, Gennifer Hutchinson and Bryan Cogman.
Only one name to star in this series was revealed. It is Markella Kavenagh, the Australian actress who is not so well-known outside of her home country. However, we still have no information on the role she will take in this new project. Nevertheless, many predict that this Australian star will become planetary famous once the show takes its turn.
Launch date
The announcement says that the series will launch by 2021.Amazon Studios committed to developing five seasons of the series.
The original announcement also stated that the series will “explore new storylines preceding J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring”. Additionally, Amazon Studios acquired rights to the spinoff as well. However, the spinoff is not likely to develop soon.
New Zealand is the place where filming would most probably take place. Jennifer Salke from Amazon reportedly said:” I think we might be in New Zealand. 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.”
Where the Series Would Be Available?
Apparently, in order to be able to watch the series, viewers would need to have an Amazon Prime membership. With this membership, viewers should have access to unlimited streaming in Prime Video.
Are you looking forward to Orcs, Trolls, and Wargs?
