Fans of the Lord Of The Rings are all eagerly waiting for Friday, September 2 as ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ will be out on Amazon Prime Video.
The Show aims to tap into the all-time appeal of books, still regularly voted the world’s best-loved novels, as well as Peter Jackson’s Oscar-winning film adaptations. This Show is quite essential to Amazon’s bid to stand out in the “streaming wars” with Netflix, Disney+ and HBO Max.
$1 Billion
Amazon has splurged $250 million buying the rights from Tolkien’s estate, and some $465 million on the first season alone. It has committed from the start to making five full seasons That means the final cost is expected to pass $1 billion.
With a prequel for Game Of Thrones already in motion, Amazon Prime had to take a huge leap to still be relevant and watchable. But the stakes are sky high in this gamble as the show will feature largely unknown cast and creators.
“It is quite nerve wracking – we’re building something from the ground up that’s never been seen before,” said Sophia Nomvete, who plays Princess Disa, the first female and first Black dwarf depicted on screen in Tolkien’s world.
Watch the Official Trailer for #TheRingsOfPower now. Join us in Middle-earth on September 2.pic.twitter.com/TEXeaa1gVP
— The Lord of the Rings on Prime (@LOTRonPrime) August 23, 2022
What To Expect
The Rings of Power is set in Tolkien’s Second Age – a period of history in his fictional Middle Earth world thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
So while a handful of characters from Jackson’s films reappear in Amazon’s show, as mostly younger versions of elves such as Galadriel and Elrond, (who are of course immortal) there is no Frodo, Gollum or Aragorn in sight.
Most characters from are appearing on screen for the first time, and some have even been created entirely from scratch for the show!
Amazon has also put on extravagant premieres for The Rings of Power in Los Angeles, New York and Mumbai. The show’s lavish promotion is just a drop in the ocean compared to the astonishing cost of actually making a series which is the most expensive ever for television!
So we’ll all cross our fingers, hope for the best and see whether the gamble has paid off!
