After two big-screen trilogies adapted from JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and Hobbit books, fans can once again explore Middle-earth with The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power from Amazon Studios.
The sprawling eight-episode first season is set in the history of the second age of Middle-earth, thousands of years before the events of both The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings books.
The show begins in a time of peace, but depicts events that play a major role in the LOTR and Hobbit franchise, including the forging of the Rings of Power.
Return to Middle-earth: After two big-screen trilogies adapted from JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and Hobbit books, fans can explore Middle-earth again with Amazon Studios’ The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Forging: The show begins in a time of peace, but depicts events that play a major role in the LOTR and Hobbit franchises, including the forging of the Rings of Power
The episode opens with Galadriel giving a speech, with flashbacks to her childhood, saying that the world had been so young, there wasn’t even a sunrise.
“But even then there was light,” she says, as we see a group of children approach young Galadriel and ask if it’s ready yet.
They all walk to a stream as a boy says, “Even you can’t believe that scrap can float,” as a rebellious Galadriel says sit will sail.
The paper boat turns into a paper swan as the boys all start throwing rocks at it and sink the boat, causing her to attack the boy before her brother stops them.
“It was a good ship, sister,” her brother says, trying to comfort her.
He asks why the stone is sinking, and he says he is going to the darkness, adding that the ship does not look down, but up.
She adds that it is sometimes difficult to know which way is up and which way is down while her brother Finrod is whispering a secret to her.
She adds that it seems so “simple,” but he says the truths are the fairest when he takes them to Mom and Dad.
“We don’t have a word for death, because we thought our joy would be infinite,” Galadriel says in voiceover, as Finrod walks to their village.
“We thought our light would never dim,” she adds, explaining how a legion of elves went into battle, leaving their home in Valinor, and traveling to a distant realm… Middle-earth.
The show made history long before its first two episodes debuted on Thursday night, as it is considered the most expensive series ever.
The show’s beginnings date back to July 2017, when a grueling lawsuit between Warner Bros. — the studio behind the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies — and the JRR Tolkien Estate was settled.
Both the studio and the estate began offering the television rights to the franchise to streaming services, with Amazon quickly becoming a frontrunner.
History: The show made history long before the first two episodes debuted on Thursday night, as it is considered the most expensive series ever
Frontrunner: Both the studio and estate began offering the television rights to the franchise to streaming services, with Amazon quickly becoming a frontrunner
Amazon co-founder Jeff Bezos previously mandated the streaming service Prime Video that he wanted a large-scale franchise.
Bezos was also reportedly a huge fan of the franchise and personally was only involved in the rights negotiations alone, which were eventually acquired in November 2017 for a whopping $250 million.
Amazon has also signed a deal with the Tolkien Estate and the Tolkien Trust, who are believed to have given the green light to more than five seasons of the show.
Mandate: Amazon co-founder Jeff Bezos previously mandated the streaming service Prime Video that he wanted a large-scale franchise
Five Seasons: Amazon has also signed a deal with the Tolkien Estate and the Tolkien Trust, where they have reportedly given the green light for more than five seasons of the show
With an estimated production commitment of between $100 million and $150 million per season, Amazon is expected to pay $1 billion for the production costs and the rights, when all is said and done.
The series was created by Patrick McKay and JD Payne, who had previously worked only as uncredited writers on 2016’s Star Trek: Beyond.
The duo pitched a series set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, a history obscured in a five-minute prologue during the Lord of the Rings movies.
Billion Dollar Show: With an estimated production commitment of between $100 million and $150 million per season, Amazon is expected to pay $1 billion for production costs and rights, when all is said and done
Creators: The series was created by Patrick McKay and JD Payne, who previously only worked as uncredited writers on 2016’s Star Trek: Beyond
They wanted to extend this to about 50 hours of television, including the forging of the Rings of Power, the rise of the dark lord Sauron, the fall of the island kingdom of Numenor, and the eventual alliance between men and elves.
However, there will be characters that fans will recognize, most notably Galadriel, played in the LOTR movies by Cate Blanchett, with the much younger version as Morfydd Clark.
There are rumors that a white-haired character shown in the trailers, played by Bridie Sisson (previously thought to be Anson Boon), is actually Sauron himself, although the producers have not confirmed that.
Galadriel: There will be characters fans will recognize, most notably Galadriel, played in the LOTR movies by Cate Blanchett, with the much younger version played by Morfydd Clark
Executive producer Lindsey Weber wouldn’t confirm or deny Sisson’s character, but did hint at his parentage Time.
“We enjoy all the speculation online and can tell you that Bridie Sisson is an incredible actor,” Weber began.
“We also thought fans would love to know that her character travels from far east – from the land of Rhûn…” Weber teased.
The new episodes will roll out simultaneously around the world, with the first two episodes on Thursday at 6:00pm PT/9:00pm ET/2AM UK.
The final six episodes will roll out weekly at 9pm PT/12 AM ET/5 AM UK, and the eight-episode season finale arrives on Thursday, October 13 exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.
New Episodes: The new episodes will roll out simultaneously around the world, with the first two episodes airing Thursdays at 6:00pm PT/9:00pm ET/2AM UK
Final Six: The final six episodes roll out weekly at 9pm PT/12 AM ET/5 AM UK, and the eight-episode season finale arrives on Thursday, October 13 exclusively on Amazon Prime Video