Could ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Amazon Series Be the Next ‘Game of Thrones’?
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Annlyel James 
Annlyel delves into the highly anticipated return to middle earth in Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings series
There are a lot of things coming to an epic end this year. First, Game of Thrones, which sprawled a whopping eight years and eight seasons, finally came to a somewhat controversial end early this April. Then we had Avengers: Endgame which brought about the relative end of Infinity Saga and some of our favorite characters’ storylines. This June we got the final (at least final for now) Toy Story movie which left many viewers wet-eyed at the somewhat sad but satisfying conclusion to the story. And this December we’re getting the highly-anticipated finale to the Skywalker saga in The Rise of Skywalker which I’m super excited about, as expected.
But, as these beloved stories come to a fitting close and start collecting dust on sometimes our literal shelves, Hollywood producers begin to want to bring these iconic properties back to life to collect money on once again. And that’s why, after nearly two decades, the world of Middle-Earth is returning to grasp our hearts once more. Now, I’m sure you’re thinking to yourself, “Wait a minute. Didn’t we have those Hobbit movies?”
Yeah, we did, but those three films were so poor in comparison to The Lord of the Rings trilogy that I don’t count them as a return to the Middle-Earth that we fell in love with over a decade ago. This new J.R.R Tolkien series Amazon is currently cooking up, however, could be the first thing since The Lord of the Rings that actually manages to capture that awe-inducing magic that the Oscar-winning trilogy of the 2000s’ found with such brilliance.
First off, the series has already been signed in a contract to have five seasons that’ll cost a culmination of over $1 billion! dollars to conceive, making it the most expensive television series of all time, even beyond Game of Thrones.
Now, if you think this series will focus on the timeline presented in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy then think again because it won’t. In fact, the series will focus on the Second Age of Middle-Earth which was during the time that Sauron rose to prominence and that epic war featuring the alliance of Man and Elves versus Sauron and his evil forces happened. But let me remind you, the Second Age was vast, so who knows where the writers will take the story to keep it from mirroring the story presented in The Lord of the Rings too much.
A couple of writers–J.D Payne and Patrick McKay–have already been penned to develop the series as of last year. Apparently, we’ll get a taste of their writing style next year in the Godzilla vs. Kong movie, as they were tasked with writing the epic showdown between the two iconic goliaths. This is what they had to say about the incredible responsibility of taking on something as beloved as the Middle-Earth story.
“We feel like Frodo, setting out from the Shire, with a great responsibility in our care — it is the beginning of the adventure of a lifetime.”
Hopefully, like Frodo, this “adventure” doesn’t end with them wanting to get on a boat and go somewhere far away from everybody because we’ll be so upset they ruined J.R.R Tolkien’s work. Peter Jackson will not return to direct the series but he has revealed that he is open to helping the series along. In his own words he says, “I think they’re going to send us some scripts to see if we can help them along,” Jackson said. “I wish them all the best and if we can help them we certainly will try.”
J.A Bayona, who directed Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, has been confirmed to direct the first two episodes of the series. No cast members have been announced yet but there were rumors that Will Poulter, known for his roles in We’re the Millers, Black Mirror, and Midsommar could star in the series as well as Australian actress Markella Kavenagh. Those are the only actors so far that have even been mentioned for the series, as the production surrounding it has been TOP-SECRET.
What I do know however is that the first season is likely to arrive sometime in 2021, which would be perfect considering that it would be the twentieth anniversary of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. The first season is looking to be quite extensive with up to twenty episodes! (Heck yeah.) And while New Zealand is, of course, being considered for filming (because why not) there are other practical locations that could be highlighted to showcase the series’ brand new locations in the most authentic ways.
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We already know that J.R.R Tolkien’s epic story of Middle-Earth is worthy of praise, meaning if his tales can be brought to life in a concise and outstanding way, it is very possible that this Middle-Earth Amazon series can be the next Game of Thrones-style goliath at the Emmys every year.
As more news concerning The Lord of the Rings Amazon series arrives The Future of the Force will be sure to share it with you. 👍
Annlyel James is a prolific Staff Writer for Future of the Force. She is passionate about Star Wars and Marvel but loves a wide variety of movie genres. Follow her on Twitter @annlyeljames where she channels the Force frequently!
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Annlyel James is a Senior Correspondent of The Future of the Force. She is passionate about Star Wars and Marvel but loves a wide variety of movie genres. Aside from her role with Future of the Force she also writes for her blog: annlyelonline. Follow her on Twitter where she channels the Force frequently!
