‘The Lord of the Rings’ Prequel TV Series Lands At Amazon With Multi-Season Order!
A couple of weeks ago we announced Amazon was in talks to bring us a ‘The Lord of the Rings’ tv series. Now, the streaming giant has announced the deal is done, and they’ve given it a multi-season order!
Set in Middle Earth, the television adaptation will explore new storylines preceding J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring. We presume that means it will sit in a time period between ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy. Not only has Amazon given this new show a multi-season commitment, but the deal also includes a potential additional spin-off series.
The show will be produced by Amazon Studios in cooperation with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins and New Line Cinema, a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment.
“The Lord of the Rings is a cultural phenomenon that has captured the imagination of generations of fans through literature and the big screen,” said Sharon Tal Yguado, Head of Scripted Series, Amazon Studios. “We are honoured to be working with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins and New Line on this exciting collaboration for television and are thrilled to be taking The Lord of the Rings fans on a new epic journey in Middle Earth.”
“We are delighted that Amazon, with its longstanding commitment to literature, is the home of the first-ever multi-season television series for The Lord of the Rings,” adds Matt Galsor, a representative for the Tolkien Estate and Trust and HarperCollins. “Sharon and the team at Amazon Studios have exceptional ideas to bring to the screen previously unexplored stories based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s original writings.”
The phrase “previously unexplored stories” does make us think we may not be looking at the return of Bilbo, Frodo, Gandalf etc… but focusing on other characters of Middle Earth from around that time period. Should they want to keep the series in continuity with the movies, it will be interesting to see if they can tempt back some of its stars to, maybe, pop up in supporting roles.
A world-renowned literary work, and winner of the International Fantasy Award and Prometheus Hall of Fame Award, ‘The Lord of the Rings’ novels was named Amazon customers’ favourite book of the millennium in 1999 and Britain’s best-loved novel of all time in BBC’s The Big Read in 2003. Its theatrical adaptations, from New Line Cinema and Director Peter Jackson, earned a combined gross of nearly $6 billion worldwide. With an all-star cast that included Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Sean Astin and Orlando Bloom, ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy garnered a combined 17 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
Amazon has not announced a release date, cast, writer, showrunner or director for this new ‘The Lord of the Rings’ tv series yet, but we’ll let you know when we hear more.
