As we reported earlier this month, a ‘Lord of the Rings’ television series is in the early stages of development, and now that series has found a home. Following reports that Amazon Studios had emerged as the frontrunner in a bidding war among a variety of outlets, we can now confirm that the series will be coming exclusively to Amazon Prime.
The biggest piece of news in the announcement, however, is not that the series has found a home at Amazon, but rather that Amazon is moving forward with a multi-season commitment. While this may raise some eyebrows, there’s certainly no dearth of material on which they could draw. J.R.R. Tolkien’s published Middle Earth stories are nothing if not rich. Moreover, the extended editions of Peter Jackson’s six Middle Earth films have a combined runtime of nearly twenty-one hours – itself more than a season’s worth.
It remains unclear whether or not the show will adapt the classic fantasy novels, but we do know that it will feature at least some degree of original story material. According to Matt Galsor, representing the Tolkien Estate and Trust:
”We are delighted that Amazon, with its longstanding commitment to literature, is the home of the first-ever multiseason television series for ‘The Lord of the Rings’. Sharon (Tal Yguado) and the team at Amazon Studios have exceptional ideas to bring to the screen previously unexplored stories based on J.R.R. Tolkein’s writings.”
Amazon will produce their ‘Lord of the Rings’ series in-house at Amazon Studios in association with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins, and New Line Cinema. This announcement comes amid a move on Amazon’s part to shift the focus of their original programming to genre content. None of the companies involved with the production have made any announcements regarding writers or other talent that might be attached to the series. Additionally, the Hollywood Reporter has further confirmed that the deal also includes a potential spinoff series, though there is no word yet on what form such a spinoff might take.
Be sure to check back with ScienceFiction.com for more on Amazon’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ series as it becomes available.
