THE LORD OF THE RINGS Series is Officially Moving Forward at Amazon and it Will Be a Prequel
Last week we learned that Warner Bros. teamed up with the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien to develop a new series based on The Lord of the Rings. They were looking to make a deal with Amazon Studios and that deal is no officially done!
Amazon announced that that it has acquired the global television rights to the Lord of the Rings franchise and they've made a multiple-season commitment. The deal also includes additional spinoff series. They will produce the series alongside the Tolkien Estate and Trust, publisher HarperCollins and Warner Bros. Entertainment's New Line Cinema. Here's a little description that teases the series will be a prequel.
Set in Middle Earth, the television adaptation will explore new storylines preceding J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring. The deal includes a potential additional spin-off series.
I like that the series will take place prior to the events of Fellowship of the Ring. Regardless of that, this is both exciting and scary. Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy are three of my favorite movies ever. It's going to be really weird seeing another reimagining of this world of Middle Earth. It's also hard to believe that whatever Amazon does will be as good as what Jackson gave us.
The one thing that I hope they do is go deeper into the stories of the characters and that the spinoffs will involve corners and characters in Middle Earth that haven't really been explored before. I would especially love to see stories and elements from The Silmarillion brought to life!
When talking about the project, Sharon Tal Yguado, Amazon's new head of scripted said:
“The Lord of the Rings is a cultural phenomenon that has captured the imagination of generations of fans through literature and the big screen. We are honored 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.”
Matt Galsor, a representative for the Tolkien Estate and Trust and HarperCollins added:
"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. 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.”
At least the Peter Jackson films will always be there for us to enjoy. Whether you're excited about this or not, there's no doubt that fans are curious to see what this new Lord of the Rings series ends up being.
What do you think about what's been revealed of the series so far? DO you like the fact that it will be more of a prequel?