24/22
Amazon’s original bid for TV rights to JRR’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
Synopsis
An epic drama set thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, which follows a cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the terrifying re-emergence of evil in Middle-earth. The cast of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and other actors who completely transformed for their roles. Tolkien’s novels were supposed to make the series a new adaptation of the latter (actually a retelling of Gospodar prstenova: Prstenova družina (2001), Gospodar prstenova: Dvije kule (2002) and Gospodar prstenova: Povratak kralja (2003)), but the Tolkien estate rejected this proposal.
The dubbing credits for several languages incorrectly list King Durin III as “Durin II”
Amazon finally got the rights on the condition that the series was different from Peter Jackson’s previous adaptations and that they could not contradict anything Tolkien had previously written. The first proposed ideas included backstories with characters like Aragorn, Gimli and Gandalf, but the showrunners preferred to focus on important events not told by the legend of the novels, rather than simple side stories, so they agreed with the studio, that the series will take place during the Second Age of Books. Since they did not have the rights to Tolkien’s The Silmarillion, The Unfinished Tales, and The History of Middle-earth (which explore the First and Second Ages), they checked The Lord of the Rings novels and supplements for passages and references to the Second Age , in which they could place their story. They consulted the estate and several Tolkien experts (including his nephew and author Simon Tolkien) about the inclusion of new characters and plot elements.
Tolkien’s The Silmarillion
The opening titles are a musical sequence of matter forming various forms based on the creation myth The Music of the Ainur by J.R.R. Featured in The Critical Drinker: The Rings of Power – War For A Fandom (2022). We all know this series took some liberties, so my review is not based on fidelity to the source material. A lot of the marketing for this show made people fear that it would be resurrected.
I’ve never seen anything like it
I didn’t roll my eyes or face off on virtue signaling. The pacing is a little rough in some parts, but since it’s the beginning of the series, I almost expect a bit of slowness. There’s a lot going on, setting and presentation stuff, etc… The characters and story are engaging, the cinematography is well done, and the soundtrack sounds spot on…
Definitely give it a shot and decide for yourself
so I’m genuinely excited to see where this series takes us. See the cast of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power in all their most iconic roles, from Morfid Clarke in Saint Maud to Benjamin Walker in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and more.
