Amazon announces its own The Lord of the Rings series

Amazon is going to make a TV series for its own streaming service Prime Video based on JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings books. There will be several seasons, but nothing has been announced about when the first series will come out.

Amazon reports that it has acquired the worldwide television rights to film The Lord of the Rings, meaning that the company can offer the television series via Prime Video in principle in all countries. It has not been disclosed how much Amazon has had to pay for the rights. Deadline previously reported that Amazon, Netflix and HBO have been approached to take up this project, which would involve an amount between 200 and 250 million dollars.

Matt Galsor, a representative of the companies Tolkien Estate and Trust, and HarperCollins, with whom Amazon Studios is partnering to realize the TV series, said the new production centers on previously unexplored storylines based on Tolkien’s original books. . This television adaptation introduces new storylines set before the events of The Fellowship of the Ring. It is therefore a prequel that takes place in the time before the original film trilogy.

It is unclear whether the series will be based on Tolkien’s many well-known and unknown stories set in Middle-earth or whether Middle-earth is the stage for a unique interpretation of Amazon. When the first season will be released has not been announced, but it will probably take a few more years. Furthermore, with the acquisition of the rights, it has also been agreed that spin-off series may be made. Details of any spin-off plans have not been disclosed.