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"Things that were, things that are, and some things that have not yet come to pass." As this article concerns something not yet released, it is subject to major changes. |
Amazon's Middle-earth TV series (nicknamed LOTRonPrime on official social media[1]) is an adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's writings currently under production by Amazon's film and TV division, alongside Warner Brothers, HarperCollins, New Line Cinema, and the Tolkien Estate. Amazon hopes to begin airing the series in 2021.[2] Though ubiquitously called a Lord of the Rings series, it will cover a wide time-span of Middle-earth's earlier history, with new invented story-lines.
Plot
The series will explore times before the years of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring, but will not touch on the events of The Silmarillion.[3] The series will reportedly be at least five seasons long.[4] The plot of the first season will cover events of the Second Age, as revealed through teaser maps posted on Facebook and Twitter in March 2019.[5] A preliminary interactive map is featured on the Amazon Prime Video site.
Development
In November 2017, Amazon Studios secured the rights to make a five-season production with the potential for spin-offs.[3] The rights alone cost $250 million[6]; the first two seasons could cost upwards of $500 million.[7] The deal between Warner Brothers and the Tolkien Estate includes the potential for a spin-off series.[8]
Peter Jackson has stated he will not be directly involved in the series.[9] Development will be led by young screenwriters John D. Payne and Patrick McKay.[2] One of Game of Thrones' co-executive producers, Bryan Cogman, will also participate in its creation.[10]
Fourth and completed map of Middle-earth, released by Amazon on March 6, 2019
On February 13, 2019, Amazon's newly created Twitter account associated with the show posted the quote "I wisely started with a map.", taken from Tolkien's Letter 144. Starting on February 15, and ending on March 7, different versions of a map of Middle-earth were released, first without labels, and each successive post including more labels than the previous map. The final map released on March 7 showed a wider view of Middle-earth, including the island of Númenor. A different section of the Ring-verse appeared with each successive post, until it was completed with the fifth map.[11] Assistance was given by Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey and artist John Howe in the tailoring of their interactive map.[12]
On April 13, 2019, it was reported that Leith, Edinburgh, and other places in Scotland would be the primary filming location for the series.[13] However, on June 30, the New Zealand Herald reported that the series would be filmed primarily in Auckland and Queenstown, among other locations in New Zealand.[14]
It was announced on July 3, 2019, that J.A. Bayona, a two-time Goya Award winner for Best Director known for The Orphanage, will direct the show's first two episodes.[15]
External links
References
- ↑ LOTRonPrime Twitter page; LOTRonPrime Facebook page
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Muncy, Julie (July 30, 2018). Amazon Has Picked Star Trek 4 Writing Duo To Develop Its Lord Of The Rings Show. Kotaku. Retrieved on 2018-07-31
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Otterson, Joe (November 13, 2017). ‘Lord of the Rings’ Series Moving Forward at Amazon With Multi-Season Production Commitment'. Variety. Retrieved on November 14, 2017
- ↑ Gilyadov, Alex (April 5, 2018). AMAZON REPORTEDLY COMMITTED TO FIVE SEASONS OF LORD OF THE RINGS TV SERIES. IGN. Retrieved on 2018-06-08
- ↑ Amazon's The Lord of the Rings series confirms setting: 'Welcome to the Second Age'
- ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (November 13, 2017). 'Amazon Sets ‘The Lord of the Rings’ TV Series In Mega Deal With Multi-Season Commitment'. Deadline. Retrieved on December 1, 2017
- ↑ Dastin, Jeffrey (March 15, 2018) Exclusive: 'Amazon's internal numbers on Prime Video, revealed'. Reuters. Retrieved on March 18, 2018.
- ↑ Gilyadov, Alex (November 13, 2017). LORD OF THE RINGS TV SERIES GETS MULTI-SEASON COMMITMENT FROM AMAZON. IGN. Retrieved on 2018-06-08
- ↑ Gilyadov, Alex (June 6, 2018). PETER JACKSON CONFIRMS HE'S NOT INVOLVED IN AMAZON'S LORD OF THE RINGS SERIES. IGN. Retrieved on 2018-06-08
- ↑ https://deadline.com/2019/05/game-of-thrones-bryan-cogman-lord-of-the-rings-amazon-series-1202620726/
- ↑ Altaira (February 21, 2019) Amazon Prime’s Middle-earth: our journey so far. Theonering.net. Retrieved on 2019-02-23
- ↑ https://ew.com/tv/2019/04/17/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-show-second-age/
- ↑ Post by TheOneRing.net, April 13 2019
- ↑ Dillane, Tom (June 30, 2019) Auckland secures 'huge' part of US Amazon Lord of the Rings production - most expensive TV show ever at $1.5 billion plus New Zealand Herald. Retrieved on 7/1/19
- ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (July 3, 2019) ‘The Lord Of The Rings’: J.A. Bayona To Direct Amazon Series. Deadline. Retrieved on 7/3/19