Prime-Video - The Lord of the rings : Prime Video’s Most Anticipated New Series of 2022 Reveals Its Title

By Mulder, 19 january 2022

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is an upcoming television series based on the novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was developed by J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay for the streaming service Amazon Prime Video, and is set in the Second Age of Middle-earth before the events of the Lord of the Rings novel and films. The series is produced by Amazon Studios in cooperation with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins, and New Line Cinema, with Payne and McKay serving as showrunners.

Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power officially has a name and it hints at what’s to come.  The television series' complete title was unveiled today, and the significance behind the subtitle will not be lost on J.R.R. Tolkien fans, foreshadowing an epic story that welds the major events of Tolkien's Second Age together: the forging of the iconic rings.  The multi-season drama - The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power - will premiere exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries around the world in multiple languages on Friday, September 2, with new episodes available weekly. 

“This is a title that we imagine could live on the spine of a book next to J.R.R. Tolkien’s other classics. The Rings of Power unites all the major stories of Middle-earth’s Second Age: the forging of the rings, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, the epic tale of Númenor, and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men,” said Showrunners J.D. Payne & Patrick McKay. “Until now, audiences have only seen on-screen the story of the One Ring – but before there was one, there were many… and we’re excited to share the epic story of them all.” 

Just as so many elements of the show itself were hand-crafted, Prime Video chose to physically forge the title in a blacksmith foundry, pouring fiery molten metal into hand-carved wooden ravines shaped to the letterforms. The process was captured in slow motion for a live-action video, which features voice-over narration of lines from Tolkien's famous "Ring Verse," describing the intended recipients of the 20 Rings of Power. The bespoke title treatment appears crafted in a silvery metal, with lines of Elvish script inscribed along the crest of each letterform. 

Lines from Tolkien's "Ring Verse" featured in the voice-over as part of Prime Video's announcement today:  Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne, In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. 

Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth's history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and one of the greatest villains that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness. Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared reemergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the farthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone. 

The series is led by showrunners and executive producers J.D. Payne & Patrick McKay. They are joined by executive producers Lindsey Weber, Callum Greene, J.A. Bayona, Belén Atienza, Justin Doble, Jason Cahill, Gennifer Hutchison, Bruce Richmond, and Sharon Tal Yguado, and producers Ron Ames and Christopher Newman. Wayne Che Yip is co-executive producer and directs along with J.A. Bayona and Charlotte Brändström.  
A world-renowned literary work, and winner of the International Fantasy Award and Prometheus Hall of Fame Award, The Lord of the Rings was named Amazon customers’ favorite book of the millennium in 1999 and Britain’s best-loved novel of all time in BBC’s "The Big Read" in 2003. The Lord of the Rings books have been translated into over 38 languages and have sold more than 150 million copies.

Amazon bought the television rights for The Lord of the Rings for US$250 million in November 2017, making a five-season production commitment worth at least US$1 billion. This would make it the most expensive television series ever made. Payne and McKay were hired to develop the series in July 2018, with the rest of the creative team confirmed a year later. Casting for the large ensemble cast took place around the world. Filming took place in New Zealand, where the film trilogy was made, from February 2020 to August 2021 with a production break of several months during that time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first eight-episode season is expected to premiere on Prime Video on September 2, 2022. A second season was formally ordered in November 2019. Amazon announced in August 2021 that filming for future seasons would take place in the United Kingdom.

Synopsis : 
Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows a cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they face the dreaded re-emergence of evil in Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elven capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the farthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that will endure long after they are gone.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Based on The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
Developed by J. D. Payne, Patrick McKay
Starring Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Morfydd Clark as Galadriel, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, Daniel Weyman, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Maxim Baldry, Ian Blackburn, Kip Chapman, Anthony Crum, Maxine Cunliffe, Trystan Gravelle, Lenny Henry, Thusitha Jayasundera, Fabian McCallum, Simon Merrells, Geoff Morrell, Peter Mullan, Lloyd Owen, Augustus Prew, Peter Tait, Alex Tarrant, Leon Wadham
Benjamin Walker, Sara Zwangobani, Charles Edwards, Will Fletcher, Amelie Child-Villiers, Beau Cassidy
Executive producers : J. D. Payne, Patrick McKay, Lindsey Weber, Callum Greene, J. A. Bayona, Belén Atienza, Justin Doble, Jason Cahill, Gennifer Hutchison, Bruce Richmond, Sharon Tal Yguado
Production companies : Amazon Studios, Tolkien Estate, Tolkien Trust, HarperCollins, New Line Cinema
Distributor : Amazon Studios