Amazon confirms a Lord of the Rings TV Series

[Caliburn]

Amazon has confirmed in a press release that they are planning to make a TV adaptation of Tolkien's fictional world. It seems the focus will be on the time period just before the events of The Lord of the Rings, though it's unclear how The Hobbit fits into this.

I've got mixed feelings about this. GoT has proven that a TV series format is excellent for bringing detailed fantasy-themed books. On the other hand however Peter Jackson's trilogy was so breathtaking and iconic that it's hard to accept seeing other actors play important characters and famous locations having a different look.

 

[Tauren Chieftain]

Well I think it would be nice to have tv series. But its safe to say no movie or anything will come close to Lotr movie greatness.

 

[loj]

Imagine if it turns out shit

 

[Konno]

I'm afraid they are going to ruin it by focusing on their financial benefits and not respecting the masterpiece.

 

[Goetia]

Are they really confined to the small time period before Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit? I would prefer to see something like the events of the Silmarillion adapted into TV series format.

 

[Jazzy Stardust]

i really wish they wouldnt but... theyd probably just replicate some of the Unfinished Tales with Gandalf trying to figure out about the ring, Aragorn with the rangers of the north, etc.

but they really should use the same actors, they were really good and apart of the reason why Peter Jacksons version did so well. especially Gandalf, dont change Gandalf...ill probably give it a few episodes just out of my hardcore fandom but im not gonna let it break my heart

im gonna have to research more about whats happening

 

[JStar King]

This is really unnecessary. I guess they want to follow suit similar to Game of Thrones.

 

[Dreckerplayer]

Amazon has confirmed in a press release that they are planning to make a TV adaptation of Tolkien's fictional world. It seems the focus will be on the time period just before the events of The Lord of the Rings, though it's unclear how The Hobbit fits into this.

I've got mixed feelings about this. GoT has proven that a TV series format is excellent for bringing detailed fantasy-themed books. On the other hand however Peter Jackson's trilogy was so breathtaking and iconic that it's hard to accept seeing other actors play important characters and famous locations having a different look.

Well, I'm not sold.

 

[Flakez]

They should do The Silmarillion adaptation.

 

[Hei]

I think they would use new characters and invite someone from the former cast of the trilogy(Aragorn maybe?).Anyway i would give it a try as a fan of LoR.

 

[Caliburn]

Are they really confined to the small time period before Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit? I would prefer to see something like the events of the Silmarillion adapted into TV series format.

Most likely they chose that time frame because it's something that hasn't been done before, but is still close enough for people to be familiar with the story. Making a reboot of The Hobbit and certainly of LotR is not a bright idea as the former is not old while the latter put the bar ridiculously high. On top of that this time period is not covered in any of the books, only in the appendices an overview is given of some of the important events that happened during this time, so this gives the producers quite a lot of freedom to create a new story that connects with the movies and is still somewhat canon.

i really wish they wouldnt but... theyd probably just replicate some of the Unfinished Tales with Gandalf trying to figure out about the ring, Aragorn with the rangers of the north, etc.

but they really should use the same actors, they were really good and apart of the reason why Peter Jacksons version did so well. especially Gandalf, dont change Gandalf...ill probably give it a few episodes just out of my hardcore fandom but im not gonna let it break my heart

im gonna have to research more about whats happening

The problem is that those actors are most likely quite expensive and that they should have the time for it. It's not uncommon in Hollywood that characters have to be recast because the original actor already was booked for the scheduled filming time.

You can't forget either that people look not the same at different stages of their life. Similarly to how Ian Holm and Martin Freeman portrayed an older and younger Bilbo, for some characters like Aragon a recast should be necessary. Not in the least because by now most of these actors are much older than they were when they filmed LotR. For instance it's kind of hard to pass Viggo Mortensen off as a teenage version of Aragorn.

But yeah I understand what you mean. It would weird to see someone else play someone like Gandalf, who doesn't change.

This is really unnecessary. I guess they want to follow suit similar to Game of Thrones.

As I said GoT has shown that this is a hugely effective format. Rationally speaking a TV series is probably much more compatible with bringing a fantasy world to live than a movie, however that costs hell of a lot of money. If it wasn't for the success of GoT, most companies probably wouldn't want to spend that much money, however GoT has shown it's well worth the effort.

And fair is fair there's enough material to justify new Middle-Earth projects, but of course the bar has been set high.

They should do The Silmarillion adaptation.

The problem with the Silmarillion is that it's ancient history from the perspective of LotR. The story, the locations and most of the characters are different and that will make it hard for regular viewers to feel familiar with them. On top of that the plot covers a ridiculously long era and most of what happened is not what you would call "happy".

TH and LotR are the only finished stories Tolkien himself wrote and published where we can follow the main characters along their journey that has a solid ending. The SM however is a chain of tragedies that covers centuries and even millennia and we know only the overall sequence of events. So from the perspective of the screenwriters and the producers it's not that appealing as it contains much more risks.

 

[Оdin]

Imagine if it turns out shit

It will. Can’t beat LotR movie greatness.

 

[WoldOfFingo]

What others shows has amazon produced?
I'm excited. I'm a huge LOTR fan and still think the trilogy are the best movies I ever seen so I hope it won't be utter sht
I just hope we won't be seeing nude elfs fuking around just to follow the trend (no discredit to GOT, I love the show)

 

[Jazzy Stardust]

The problem is that those actors are most likely quite expensive and that they should have the time for it. It's not uncommon in Hollywood that characters have to be recast because the original actor already was booked for the scheduled filming time.

You can't forget either that people look not the same at different stages of their life. Similarly to how Ian Holm and Martin Freeman portrayed an older and younger Bilbo, for some characters like Aragon a recast should be necessary. Not in the least because by now most of these actors are much older than they were when they filmed LotR. For instance it's kind of hard to pass Viggo Mortensen off as a teenage version of Aragorn.

But yeah I understand what you mean. It would weird to see someone else play someone like Gandalf, who doesn't change.

yeah thats true, even in the latest Hobbit movies Orlando Bloom clearly looked aged, as well as Ian Mckellen. if they do a great recasting like they did with Bilbo, who Martin Freeman actually really kind of looked like a younger version of the one from Fellowship, it wouldnt bother me like the Hobbit movies didnt to that extent, though they also had the same director. some actors would play a role just for the love of playing the character or legacy as an actor and wouldnt need a bunch of money. Ian McKellen might be that guy hopefully and all the of Maiar came down as old men, so a older looking version wouldnt be bad. im just hoping they at least approach him with the offer, Amazon is one of the richest companies and Gandalf is an essential character in the verse, he needs to be done well, the problem is will they find as good as a actor as Ian to play him? idk, hopefully he has the time to do it, i havent seen him in anything in a while

but i think the locations will probably definitely be reimagined, idk if the creative directors want to pay so much homage to the Jackson films, i wouldnt tbh and would want to try my shot at it. and thats what scares me the most i think, especially since a lot of the reports are saying its going to be, "exploring new storylines", that could mean a million things under the sun. they apparently are going to work with New Line Cinema and Warner Bros like in the Jackson films, which is good but since Amazon bought complete rights to it, they can really do whatever and they can afford for it to flop. even in the Hobbit films to stretch it out as a trilogy a lot of things were added that idk how you felt about, but i thought were a bit of unnecessary pandering to current movie cliches. so hopefully Amazon doesnt try so hard to get the success Game of Thrones did, that they make a verse who originally inspired GoT inspire the LotR. i would absolutely hate that and would definitely write a letter

if it turns out terrible ill just have to watch the Jackson films to wash my brain but i hope it does well. i have liked some non Tolkien stories in the verse, so i could like it but i dont want to get upset with witnessing a butchery..so we'll see i guess >__<

 

[Caliburn]

Imagine if it turns out shit

It will. Can’t beat LotR movie greatness.

If this would be a remake of the trilogy, then yes it would be quite a foolish endeavor. However we're talking here about a TV adaptation of a time period not covered in the movies. It doesn't have to beat its greatness, it has to synchronize with it.

yeah thats true, even in the latest Hobbit movies Orlando Bloom clearly looked aged, as well as Ian Mckellen. if they do a great recasting like they did with Bilbo, who Martin Freeman actually really kind of looked like a younger version of the one from Fellowship, it wouldnt bother me like the Hobbit movies didnt to that extent, though they also had the same director. some actors would play a role just for the love of playing the character or legacy as an actor and wouldnt need a bunch of money. Ian McKellen might be that guy hopefully and all the of Maiar came down as old men, so a older looking version wouldnt be bad. im just hoping they at least approach him with the offer, Amazon is one of the richest companies and Gandalf is an essential character in the verse, he needs to be done well, the problem is will they find as good as a actor as Ian to play him? idk, hopefully he has the time to do it, i havent seen him in anything in a while

but i think the locations will probably definitely be reimagined, idk if the creative directors want to pay so much homage to the Jackson films, i wouldnt tbh and would want to try my shot at it. and thats what scares me the most i think, especially since a lot of the reports are saying its going to be, "exploring new storylines", that could mean a million things under the sun. they apparently are going to work with New Line Cinema and Warner Bros like in the Jackson films, which is good but since Amazon bought complete rights to it, they can really do whatever and they can afford for it to flop. even in the Hobbit films to stretch it out as a trilogy a lot of things were added that idk how you felt about, but i thought were a bit of unnecessary pandering to current movie cliches. so hopefully Amazon doesnt try so hard to get the success Game of Thrones did, that they make a verse who originally inspired GoT inspire the LotR. i would absolutely hate that and would definitely write a letter

if it turns out terrible ill just have to watch the Jackson films to wash my brain but i hope it does well. i have liked some non Tolkien stories in the verse, so i could like it but i dont want to get upset with witnessing a butchery..so we'll see i guess >__<

My opinion about TH is for another time, but the fact that New Line Cinema is involved is a good sign. I'm going to assume Amazon knows the importance of such a project. Even if they financially can afford a flop, it would be a huge humiliation if it did. On the other hand if they do this right, the prestige gained would be tremendous. So a minimum requirement would be that you have people involved who are experts in Tolkien lore and/or who worked on the two trilogies to maintain continuity.

For example Alan Lee and John Howe are the most important Tolkien-artists. They have been visualizing Middle-Earth for decades for stuff like book covers and calendars and what's more they were involved in all of the movies. They used drawings they made years ago and expanded on them in the movies while also creating new stuff. So if you involve people like them in the visualization process, it will feel familiar.

Yes this could go wrong in a lot of ways, but it also provides a lot of new opportunities. If I would be a producer, I would focus on completely new characters and/or characters omitted from the movies (for example Tom Bombadil) that only scarcely interact with characters from the movies, following a plot that is unique, but is very wall a part of the greater whole and that this occurs mostly in places that again do not appear in the movies.

For example following a Dúnedain ranger in Eriador. I've always found the Dúnedain intriguing, but even in the books little of them is explained and in the movies it's only Aragorn. Other rangers have been introduced in the books and they can easily become 150-200 years old. So you can just take a known ranger and create a story centered around his activities in Eriador and/or Gondor. Another possibility is a young Aragorn. He undertook numerous journeys in during this time period, including a daring successful raid on Umbar. Now he was 49 when he did this, but considering that he looks younger than he actually is, you can justifiably cast an actor in his thirties. This is an event that is only shortly described in the books, but rationally speaking the mechanics behind it are quite complicated as how does an unknown ranger succeed in getting Gondor sending a naval fleet to Umbar under his command?

Stuff enough for a successful TV series, but the danger lies in how compatible they can make it with the movies.

 

[Horus]

Not sure how I feel about this..
If its the Simarillion, then it'll just be a collection of events, not really going into a full line story.
Guess they'll be making a lot of stuff up to fill in gaps.
I feel weird about it with respect to the casting.. like if they talk about the Istari and White Council, I cant see anyone else playing the roles of Saruman (Rip Sir Christopher Lee) and the others since I doubt they'll agree to be part of that.

Didnt the Tolkien Estate bar the production of other movies under Tolkien's name?

 

[Skorm]

Can't they just make prequels based on the Silmarillion?

 

[Jazzy Stardust]

My opinion about TH is for another time, but the fact that New Line Cinema is involved is a good sign. I'm going to assume Amazon knows the importance of such a project. Even if they financially can afford a flop, it would be a huge humiliation if it did. On the other hand if they do this right, the prestige gained would be tremendous. So a minimum requirement would be that you have people involved who are experts in Tolkien lore and/or who worked on the two trilogies to maintain continuity.

For example Alan Lee and John Howe are the most important Tolkien-artists. They have been visualizing Middle-Earth for decades for stuff like book covers and calendars and what's more they were involved in all of the movies. They used drawings they made years ago and expanded on them in the movies while also creating new stuff. So if you involve people like them in the visualization process, it will feel familiar.

Yes this could go wrong in a lot of ways, but it also provides a lot of new opportunities. If I would be a producer, I would focus on completely new characters and/or characters omitted from the movies (for example Tom Bombadil) that only scarcely interact with characters from the movies, following a plot that is unique, but is very wall a part of the greater whole and that this occurs mostly in places that again do not appear in the movies.

For example following a Dúnedain ranger in Eriador. I've always found the Dúnedain intriguing, but even in the books little of them is explained and in the movies it's only Aragorn. Other rangers have been introduced in the books and they can easily become 150-200 years old. So you can just take a known ranger and create a story centered around his activities in Eriador and/or Gondor. Another possibility is a young Aragorn. He undertook numerous journeys in during this time period, including a daring successful raid on Umbar. Now he was 49 when he did this, but considering that he looks younger than he actually is, you can justifiably cast an actor in his thirties. This is an event that is only shortly described in the books, but rationally speaking the mechanics behind it are quite complicated as how does an unknown ranger succeed in getting Gondor sending a naval fleet to Umbar under his command?

Stuff enough for a successful TV series, but the danger lies in how compatible they can make it with the movies.

yeah thats my main concern and what scares me. theres no way they can not pretend like one of the greatest movies of all time didnt happen, though at the same time i can see them not wanting to follow in Jacksons footsteps too closely and make their own mark. but like you said, if they work with people well acquainted with the verse it should be fine, which they seem to be doing, as long as the writing and acting isnt bad. i would love to see something like how Balin and the dwarves of Moria fell, or how Gondor lost its king, of course the Dúnedain like i said before would be great to see..if i remember correctly im pretty sure Aragorn became a captain in Gondor's army and fought wars with them before joining the rangers in the north

way to look on the bright side, i would love for this to do well. so hopefully it does and if Amazon, one of the biggest literature retailers of all time, does a great show about one of the greatest stories of all time. the prestige would be tremendous youre right, didnt even think of that

Not sure how I feel about this..
If its the Simarillion, then it'll just be a collection of events, not really going into a full line story.
Guess they'll be making a lot of stuff up to fill in gaps.
I feel weird about it with respect to the casting.. like if they talk about the Istari and White Council, I cant see anyone else playing the roles of Saruman (Rip Sir Christopher Lee) and the others since I doubt they'll agree to be part of that.

Didnt the Tolkien Estate bar the production of other movies under Tolkien's name?

i thought so too but apparently the Tolkien estate has been trying to pimp the rights out for a TV series to HBO, Netflix and others for a while now before Amazon decided to pick it up. they say the owner of Amazon paid 250mil to get global TV rights but i highly doubt that

but they definitely are gonna have a few seasons of the show and there may also be a spin-off, which seems weird to me. the TV series as a whole is already going to be a spin-off, so its gonna be a spin-off of a spin-off? that makes me wonder how far are theyre planning to go their own route with this. they could use the Simarillion and Unfinished Tales as jumping off points but its suppose to be right before the LoTR and theres not much lore about that already...so we'll see i guess...>__<

 

[Caliburn]

Not sure how I feel about this..
If its the Simarillion, then it'll just be a collection of events, not really going into a full line story.
Guess they'll be making a lot of stuff up to fill in gaps.
I feel weird about it with respect to the casting.. like if they talk about the Istari and White Council, I cant see anyone else playing the roles of Saruman (Rip Sir Christopher Lee) and the others since I doubt they'll agree to be part of that.

Didnt the Tolkien Estate bar the production of other movies under Tolkien's name?

It's not the Silmarillion, it's the time period just before the LotR. The relationship with TB hasn't been cleared out yet, but most likely the point is to connect the events of TB with those of the LotR by trying to bridge the 60-year gap between them, which makes sense.

And well it's not a movie, but a TV series. Not sure if that's different from a legislative point of view, but as I said before if GoT has proven one thing, it's that a TV format is highly compatible with a fantasy world, probably much more than a movie.

Can't they just make prequels based on the Silmarillion?

I already explained before the issues with the Silmarillion, summarized:

- It covers a time period of thousand of years

- The Silmarillion is not so much a story as it is an overview of historical events, while TH and LotR are well-rounded stories.

- It can be best described as a chain of tragedies, contrary to TH and LotR that are more less positive stories.

- Most people are not familiar with it. The plot, most of the characters and the story have little or no relationship with what happens in TH and LotR. So it would just be confusing.

All things considered The Silmarillion really isn't an appealing project.

yeah thats my main concern and what scares me. theres no way they can not pretend like one of the greatest movies of all time didnt happen, though at the same time i can see them not wanting to follow in Jacksons footsteps too closely and make their own mark. but like you said, if they work with people well acquainted with the verse it should be fine, which they seem to be doing, as long as the writing and acting isnt bad. i would love to see something like how Balin and the dwarves of Moria fell, or how Gondor lost its king, of course the Dúnedain like i said before would be great to see..if i remember correctly im pretty sure Aragorn became a captain in Gondor's army and fought wars with them before joining the rangers in the north

way to look on the bright side, i would love for this to do well. so hopefully it does and if Amazon, one of the biggest literature retailers of all time, does a great show about one of the greatest stories of all time. the prestige would be tremendous youre right, didnt even think of that



i thought so too but apparently the Tolkien estate has been trying to pimp the rights out for a TV series to HBO, Netflix and others for a while now before Amazon decided to pick it up. they say the owner of Amazon paid 250mil to get global TV rights but i highly doubt that

but they definitely are gonna have a few seasons of the show and there may also be a spin-off, which seems weird to me. the TV series as a whole is already going to be a spin-off, so its gonna be a spin-off of a spin-off? that makes me wonder how far are theyre planning to go their own route with this. they could use the Simarillion and Unfinished Tales as jumping off points but its suppose to be right before the LoTR and theres not much lore about that already...so we'll see i guess...>__<

I've been snooping around for articles and I really get the impression that the purpose of this project is to bring the Amazon streaming service to the next level. This is a highly prestigious project, so I don't think they are going to be half-assed about it. I even saw someone mentioning that they have a 100m dollar budget for every season, though I haven't found anywhere a confirmation of that.

 

[Skorm]

I already explained before the issues with the Silmarillion, summarized:

- It covers a time period of thousand of years

- The Silmarillion is not so much a story as it is an overview of historical events, while TH and LotR are well-rounded stories.

- It can be best described as a chain of tragedies, contrary to TH and LotR that are more less positive stories.

- Most people are not familiar with it. The plot, most of the characters and the story have little or no relationship with what happens in TH and LotR. So it would just be confusing.

All things considered The Silmarillion really isn't an appealing project.

Game of thrones does that too(albeit only flashback-wise z.z), can't they just pick one or make a tv series that branches through different centuries with each episode? I think that could've been a cool concept.

They can probably make it interesting anyway i think, they made three long movies out of the Hobbit so xd.

Drama's or tragedies are trending now i think, look at most netflix shows. It could fit a more adult crowd as well, tbh i don't think that GoT is very un-tragic at all either and that's doing well.

Since people aren't very familiar with it i think it could work because of that. Me personally wouldn't raise my expactations all over to Pluto cause of the lotr trilogy which was just overkill in amazingness. I can't say that i know much of the silimarillion so i am probably speaking out of boundaries. Me personally just would like to see any adaptation of the prequel era of lotr. Be it a movie or a series. Much more so than a new lotr series anyway.