Amazon confirms Lord of The Rings TV series – and it's costing a huge amount of money
The streaming service is spending a Lonely Mountain's worth of gold on the precious fantasy rights
So it came to pass that Amazon Prime would forge a Lord of The Rings TV series. And into this prequel to JRR Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring, the streaming service would pour in a massive $250 million (according to Deadline) to create, what they hope will be, one multi-season fantasy series to rule them all. Even Game of Thrones.
The plot? Without help of a Seeing Stone we really can’t be sure. Although Amazon announced they’ll explore “new storylines”, it’s not clear whether the show will centre on hobbit Bilbo Baggins or Middle Earth characters we haven’t seen portrayed on screen before, such as Tom Bombadil. However, as the series is being made between Amazon, the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins and New Line Cinema (the people who made the Lord of The Rings films), there’s a small chance it could tie into Peter Jackson’s movies.
The streaming service also said “the deal includes a potential additional spin-off series”, meaning more than one show could be heading our way.
And what of Gandalf? Could Ian McKellen – the man who played the grey wizard in Peter Jackson’s fantasy series – return to the story? Amazon haven’t unveiled any castings, directors or even writers. That reported unprecedented $250 million price tag? It’s just for the precious rights alone.
But it’s easy to see why Amazon may think the deal is worth it: Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings Trilogy earned nearly $6 billion worldwide. With a cast that included Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Sean Astin and Orlando Bloom, The Lord of the Rings trilogy picked up a combined 17 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
