Move over Game of Thrones, fantasy television has a new contender now. Even as HBO will be airing its final season of GOT, fantasy epic fans are going to get a taste of the big daddy of fantasy drama that sparked the flame of magic and mayhem on the large screen, The Lord of the Rings is all set to be made into a Television series and none other than Amazon is producing it.
The much loved and popular till now fantasy epic LOTR will return in a huge way on Television where Amazon Studios have beaten Netflix and HBO to clinch a record breaking 250 million dollar deal for the rights to turn the novels of author JR Tolkien into a TV show.
Image Source: themovieelite.com
Amazon will be working with the author’s representatives alongside New Line Cinema who helped Peter Jackson’s epic blockbuster to life. Now it will end up a multi season TV show and that of course will have all LOTR fans thrilled to the bone now that they will get to see their favorite characters once more.
Image Source: www.journaldugeek.com
When Amazon dropped the bombshell that they bagged the $250m deal, the biggest question on everyone’s lips was whether Per Jackson would return to the new TV franchise. As of now, there is no solid indication of him doing so but it now seems that yes, the director will be involved with the project.
Image Source: squarespace.com
Peter Nelsen who is Jackson’s attorney is already in talks with Amazon as Jackson’s representative. This is evidence that he may be involved in some capacity or the other.
Image Source: omegaunderground.com
The new TV show will be a prequel of events running up to the storyline of the original film trilogy that included The Fellowship, The Twin Towers and The Return of the King.
Image Source: i.ytimg.com
Amazon has recruited Sharon Tal Yguado who will now run the company’s Television production division. The main aim of the current team is to produce specific genre defined TV shows that will ooze mass appeal and cater to an international audience. So get set to see a lot of offerings from Amazon TV. Incidentally, Yguado was the mastermind behind the “walking dead” TV’s most popular drama.
Image Source: i.ytimg.com
Unlike GOT, The Lord Of The Rings books have all been written, so one cannot expect what Amazon proposes to show as of now. It could mimic what’s in the book or be a spinoff of their version of events that takes place in a “Rings” universe.
The inside story right now is that the prequel will concentrate on young Aragorn and his journey till the fellowship. In the LOTR franchise, Aragorn played by Viggo Mortensen is the man who leads the fellowship after Gandalf falls in battle with the demon. Origin stories are quite popular like “Solo” in the Star Wars franchise and the Hobbit for LOTR, so it’s likely, this too will be on the same lines.
Image Source: images2.fanpop.com
In an interview, actor Sean Astin who plays Samwise Gamgee has suggested a storyline for the TV epic. He said “The Mines of Moria are referred to a lot in 'Lord of the Rings, And I guess in the 'Hobbit' trilogy, you spent a little time with them, but the culture of the dwarves in the mines… I would love to see like five hours of that.”
Image Source: pm1.narvii.com
The TV show is going to take into account a lot of Tolkien’s notes and appendices rather than the main storyline so what you can expect is a focus on individual characters every season.
Image Source: cdn.escapistmagazine.com
As of now Amazon has revealed there will be five seasons and production will begin anytime within the next two years. We sincerely hope its sooner as every LOTR fan is going to wait impatiently till that happens.
Image Source: nerdbot.com
While there is no chance of seeing certain actors like Andy Serkis who plays Gollum and John Rhys Davies who plays Gimli, returning, there is a possibility we will see the same Gandalf. This was voiced by Ian McKellen himself who spoke in an interview saying “What do you mean, another Gandalf?” he told presenter Graham Norton. “I haven’t said yes because I haven’t been asked [to return]. But are you suggesting that someone else is going to play it? Gandalf is over 7,000 years old, so I’m not too old.”
Image Source: media.firerank.com
With all due respect to GOT fans, this will be a refreshing change that will undoubtedly thrill all the LOTR fanatics out there who will be overjoyed. It would be nice to see the origin of Aragorn and how he grows into his destiny.
Image Source: media.moddb.com
LOTR was regarded as the most ambitious and biggest film project that was hot with a budget of $281 million over 8 years. 1 in every 160 New Zealander has taken part in the movie where New Zealand is the home of director Peter Jackson. Hopefully, the TV show meets the gigantic expectations of LOTR fans worldwide and matches the drama and intensity of the film version.
Image Source: i.pinimg.com
LOTR turned out to be the highest grossing series of all time and even won 17 of its 30 Academy Award nominations. The final part, the return of the King won 11 Academy Awards including best picture.
Image Source: pinimg.com