The series "The Lord of the Rings": the first information, rumors and fan theories

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Big studio plans, huge budget, timing, plot theories and first cast.

The first information that the streaming service Amazon Prime and Warner Bros. plan to release a series based on the Lord of the Rings universe by J. R. R. Tolkien, appeared back in November 2017. But for a long time there was not even a hint of its content.

Everyone who worked on the adaptation of Peter Jackson said they had no idea what the project would be about. Jackson himself said that he only helped the producers assemble the team, but would not participate in the work. Ian McKellen shared his desire to play Gandalf again, but noted that no one invited him.

Initially, there were rumors that the series would be a prequel to The Lord of the Rings, but it was not known at what time the events would unfold. The fan site The One Ring claimed that this would be the story of the youth of Aragorn - one of the main characters of The Lord of the Rings and the ruler of the reunited kingdom of Arnor and Gondor.

But there was no official information. The only thing that was known for sure was the studio's grandiose plans for this project. The companies decided to tackle the show, just waiting for Game of Thrones to end, in order to tap into the fantasy audience.

Amazon bought the film rights for $ 250 million, beating even Netflix's bid. According to The Hollywood Reporter, after taking into account casting, production, visual effects and other expenses, the show's planned budget was roughly $ 1 billion.

But the plans are really ambitious: from the very beginning, they want to release at least five seasons of the original series, and if successful, switch to spin-offs. There are eight episodes planned for the first season. And the project has already been officially renewed for a second season. Nothing is known about the release date of the series yet, since filming has not even begun yet.

First information and time of action

Since mid-February 2019, Amazon has begun laying out a map of the world in which the action of the future series will unfold. At first it was empty, but then each time the names of territories and states were added on it.

And on March 7, a complete map of the project appeared with all the main names. And now we can draw a conclusion about the time of action and suggest what the plot will be about.

So, on the map you can see the state of Numenor, located on the island of Helen in the Belegaer Sea. The island was flooded at the end of the Second Age. Most likely, the action of the series will unfold during this period. The authors of the project seem to be hinting at this on Twitter. By the way, following the link you can go to the full-size version of the map and study it in detail.

In Tolkien's world, the Second Age began with the expulsion of Melkor (aka Morgoth) who turned to darkness. He was one of the Valar - the highest beings of the Ainur, the gods of Middle-earth. And it all ended in a battle with his follower Sauron, which led to the disembodiment of the dark lord. 3441 years passed between these events.

Plot theories

The plot of the series is kept secret, so it is not yet possible to speak for sure about something. At the same time, the Second Epoch lasted more than 3,000 years, and during this time, of course, many important events took place.

However, biographer and professional Tolkienist Tom Shippi, who takes part in the work on the project, said that the plot would not contradict the original source.

Tolkien's Legacy insisted that major events be consistent with canon. Sauron invades Eriador and is driven back by the Numenorean forces. Time passes, he accumulates enough strength and forces the Numenoreans to renounce the Valar and bow to the Darkness. All this will remain unchanged.

However, in the description of these times there are a lot of blank spots, and therefore the creators of the series have a huge scope for creativity. Fans have already begun to select the most interesting versions based on The Silmarillion, Tolkien's compilation of the myths and legends of Middle-earth before the events of The Lord of the Rings.

In January 2021, The One Ring published an allegedly leaked official synopsis of the series. But he did not add specifics either. The description says that the action will unfold thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The plot tells about a group of heroes, both new and already familiar to the viewer. They will fight a resurgent evil and will go a very long way.

There is no official confirmation that the description is true yet. Therefore, you can only build theories about the development of the plot.

The story of young Sauron

After the expulsion of Morgoth, the immortal spirit Mayar (this is also Ainur, but weaker) named Sauron continued to serve the Darkness and soon he himself became a dark ruler, not inferior in strength to his predecessor.

This hero could be devoted to many interesting stories and even made the central character of the series. After all, the Second Age is in many ways connected with him, and Sauron brought the story to the events of The Lord of the Rings.

It can even be assumed that he will become the protagonist of a future project. In the times that will be shown in the series, he can look like a charming young man who can change his appearance - something like Loki for fans of the MCU.

Perhaps the whole story will not be told from the side of elves or humans, but from the perspective of Sauron. However, whether fans will approve of the transformation of the greatest villain into a hero is unknown.

The rise and fall of Numenor

The island state was probably not accidentally appeared on the map. It was raised from the bottom by one of the Valar as a gift to the people who participated in the war against Morgoth. Those who settled in Numenor were somewhat similar to the elves and subsequently became true legends, since with the support of the Valar they reached unprecedented heights in development. They were only forbidden to sail too far from their island so as not to get to Valinor, where the higher powers lived.

But over the years, people began to envy the immortality of the elves. And at the instigation of Sauron, who was deceived into captivity by King Ar-Pharazon, and then became his adviser, they went to demand eternal life for themselves. As a result of this campaign, the Ainur flooded Numenor and destroyed its inhabitants. Sauron himself lost his human form and could no longer appear in a form pleasing to the eye.

Building Middle Earth

If we talk about the continental part of Tolkien's world, then the Second Age saw the heyday of architecture and the transformation of Middle-earth. The dwarves built the famous Moria back in the First Age, and the series may show a period of her prosperity. Also, during the action of the series, the construction of the greatest fortresses of Minas Tirith, Minas Ithil and many others takes place - the Numenoreans also helped with these people.

Sauron, at this time, settles in Mordor, builds the fortress of Barad-Dur and populates the area of Gorgoroth. Perhaps the authors will follow in the footsteps of "Game of Thrones" and try to show more than one story, but the development of the entire world of Middle-earth as a whole. In this case, you should expect a lot of large-scale and beautiful decorations.

Large-scale battles

The adaptations of The Lord of the Rings and even The Hobbit were famous for their large-scale battle scenes. Of course, even with a huge budget for the series, the question will be important here whether the authors will be able to convey the full scope of events. But they have a sufficient first principle. The second era began with a great battle, which resulted in the exile of Morgoth. Perhaps the series will start with this.

There were also two battles of Numenor against Sauron, as a result of which the villain ended up on the island. In addition, you can vividly show Ar-Pharazon's campaign to Valinor and many other large-scale events. And the series can end with the creation of the ring of omnipotence and the disincarnation of Sauron, which was already shown at the beginning of the first part of The Lord of the Rings.

What will definitely not happen

Given the time of the series, it is highly likely who the audience will not see. First, you can forget about Aragorn - he was born thousands of years after the events of the Second Age. You also don't have to think about hobbits. The beloved halflings did not settle in the Shire until 1601 of the Third Age.

In addition, Ian McKellen's hints can also be forgotten. Gandalf came from Valinor to Middle-earth in the year 1000 of the Third Age. And then he received the familiar face of an old man. So it is unlikely that at least one of the heroes familiar from The Lord of the Rings will appear in the series.

Orlando Bloom, who played the elf Legolas in the Peter Jackson series, also confirmed that he would not be participating in the filming of the series.

Something completely new

As you know, the authors of films and TV series love to change a lot in history. If we take the film adaptation of "The Lord of the Rings", then many storylines have been greatly changed in it and an important character has been completely removed from the book of Tom Bombadil.

In addition, the story of the death of Saruman and the battle for Helm's Deep itself changed - in the film version, the riders of Rohan, who had fought on horseback all their lives, for some reason decided to hide in the fortress.

In the film adaptation of The Hobbit, characters appeared who were mentioned in one line in the original or who died long before the events of the book. And also the forest elf Tauriel appeared, which Tolkien did not have at all.

Therefore, in the series, the authors can only take some basis from the original plots, and add the whole action from themselves. Most likely, they will do so, because following the canon can make the plot too slow and drawn out.

Who is working on the series

Amazon has posted a video listing many of the participants in the filming process.

Showrunners of the project are John D. Payne and Patrick McKay. They both previously worked on Star Trek: Infinity.

Jennifer Hutchinson (Breaking Bad), Jason Kehill (The Sopranos), Helen Shan (Hannibal) and Justin Doble (Stranger Things) are responsible for the scripts.

The first two episodes were directed by Jurassic World 2 director Juan Antonio Bayona. Judging by his Instagram, he has already finished his part of the work. Executive producers include Lindsay Weber (10 Cloverfield), Bruce Richmond (Game of Thrones) and Gene Kelly (Boardwalk Empire).

Moreover, the filming takes place in part in New Zealand, where the original films were filmed.

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Who will play in the series

The main role in the series will be played by the young actor Maxim Baldri. He appeared in one of the episodes of Doctor Who. By the way, his mother Karina is Russian, and his grandfather is Georgian.

Initially, Will Poulter, known for the film Solstice and the interactive episode of Black Mirror called Bandersnatch, was invited to one of the main roles. But due to problems with the schedule, the actor left the project even before filming began. He was replaced by Robert Aramayo, who played the young Ned Stark in Game of Thrones.

Morfidd Clarke (Dark Materials) plays the young elf Galadriel.

Also appearing in the series is actor Joseph Mole (Game of Thrones). He will play a villain named Oren.

In addition, there are rumors that Kaya Scodelario (Skins) will play Celebrían, Elrond's wife. This information was not officially confirmed. It was said that Elrond himself would appear in the project. But Hugo Weaving, who played this role in The Lord of the Rings, denied his involvement in the project.

The rest of the cast of the series was later announced. But most of the artists are not well known to the general public. It looks like Amazon wants to bet not on the stars, but on new faces. The series will feature Owain Arthur, Tom Budge, Nazanin Boniadi, Ema Horvat, Ismael Cruz, Markella Cavena, Charlie Vickers, Daniel Weyman and others.