Fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings is set to return in a very big way with its forthcoming TV series. Having beaten out the likes of Netflix and HBO, Amazon Studios secured the rights to turn the J. R. R. Tolkien novels into a TV show in a record-breaking deal reaching $250m with the author's estates working alongside New Line Cinema - the studio behind Peter Jackson's trilogy - to bring it to the small screen for a "multi-season commitment." While details remain unconfirmed, sources are claiming that the first season won't be centred on the War for the Ring and will instead focus on a young Aragorn who was played by Viggo Mortensen in the films. It will be derived from Tolkien's appendices and notes rather than being a direct adaptation of the novel and will reportedly focus on a different character each season. So, how long will it run for? According to The Hollywood Reporter, Amazon Studios has committed to five seasons with production scheduled to begin at an undetermined time in the next two years. Amazon also confirmed there may be the potential for additional spin-offs in the future. Certain actors from Jackon's trilogy may have ruled themselves out of appearing (Andy Serkis who played Gollum and Gimli star John Rhys Davis), however, one person who'd be up for returning is Gandalf himself, Sir Ian McKellen. 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But are you suggesting that someone else is going to play it? Gandalf is over 7,000 years old, so I’m not too old.” Follow Independent Culture on Facebook<doc-sep>As you may or may not be aware, Amazon recently bought the rights to make a new Lord of the Rings TV show. It's rumoured to be the most expensive TV show ever made and cost as much as $1 billion. Loading… There has, unsurprisingly, been a lot of speculation about what form the show will take. There has also been chat about the return of Peter Jackson to sprinkle some of the old movie magic onto the new show. Amazon have struck a deal to use material from the Oscar winning film series, so it shouldn't come as much of a surprise that the show looks set to use at least its first series focusing on a key character from the films. Advert 10 It has been rumoured on several Lord of the Rings fan sites that season one of the TV programme will focus in on the young life of Aragorn - played in the movies by Viggo Mortensen. Credit: New Line Cinema Viggo is unlikely to reprise his role as the Ranger of the North/future king of Gondor because of the age difference (he was supposed to be about 80 in the films given the strange nature of the aging process in Middle Earth) and it is not likely to focus on the 'War of the Ring' storyline. That said, Tolkien's world is so detailed and huge that they won't struggle for material. Advert 10 TheOneRing.net - a prominent fan's website - put out a series of tweets addressing what this means for Middle Earth - they said: "Firstly, we must stamp out any remaining confusion: "From the first press release, we know this so-called #LOTR series will NOT be a retelling of the events of the War of the Ring. #BeenThereDoneThat "Instead it will be Appendices based and cover a lot of time and history. "This is the greatest advantage the show runners have: that so much of Tolkien's storytelling, even just in "Appendix A," covers a tremendous swath of time. Advert 10 "Starting with a young Aragorn narrative allows connections to his Numenorean bloodline (and to the founding of #Gondor)" Firstly, we must stamp out any remaining confusion: From the first press release, we know this so-called #LOTR series will NOT be a retelling of the events of the War of the Ring. #BeenThereDoneThat Instead it will be Appendices based and cover a lot of time and history. /2 - TheOneRing.net (@theoneringnet) May 16, 2018 This is the greatest advantage the show runners have: that so much of Tolkien's storytelling, even just in "Appendix A," covers a tremendous swath of time. Starting with a young Aragorn narrative allows connections to his Numenorean bloodline (and to the founding of #Gondor). /3 - TheOneRing.net (@theoneringnet) May 16, 2018 Advert 10 If that made no sense to you, don't worry, they'll probably realise that not everyone is as up on their Tolkien mythology as these guys. They also hinted that there might be some other story arcs that the showrunners could follow. Again, if you haven't read the trilogy, or any of the other books, this won't make a whole lot of sense. They continued: "We could, in flashbacks, learn essentials about the men of #Arnor, sister kingdom in the north to #Gondor, and how the surviving #Dunedain became a community of Rangers, seeking to protect the north from incursions of the Witch-king of Angmar." Advert 10 We could, in flashbacks, learn essentials about the men of #Arnor, sister kingdom in the north to #Gondor, and how the surviving #Dunedain became a community of Rangers, seeking to protect the north from incursions of the Witch-king of Angmar. /6 - TheOneRing.net (@theoneringnet) May 16, 2018<doc-sep>Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) Lord of the Rings We already know that Amazon bought a new Lord of the Rings series for a quarter-billion dollars. We also know that the production itself will end up costing a cool $1 billion. The first season won't be all about Hobbits and orcs, though—it will definitely be about Aragorn, aka Strider, played by Viggo Mortensen in the movies. New Line Cinema ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website A Rings fan account learned of the details and reported that the series won't be a re-tread of the movies. It will draw from the massive pile of notes that Tolkien put together in writing the books and cover a great deal of back story. For anyone who never read the books, liked the movies, but found themselves confused sometimes, it seems like the Amazon show will end up connecting some loose ends. ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website Will actors from the movies be back? That depends—in similar situations, showrunners sometimes want to have a kind of clean slate so the series will have its own identity. One thing we know for sure, with a billion dollars behind it, this show will have production values light years beyond just about anything else. [UniLad]<doc-sep>
Amazon has confirmed it will produce five seasons of its upcoming Lord of the Rings TV series. Loading… Along with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, publishers HarperCollins, and New Line Cinema (which produced the award-winning trilogy of films), the studio is now working on the series. There have been rumblings about which direction the show might take and according to a LOTR fan site, it could start with a young Aragon - played in the movies by Viggo Mortensen. Advert 10 Viggo is unlikely to reprise his role as the Ranger of the North/future king of Gondor because of the age difference (he was supposed to be about 80 in the films given the strange nature of the aging process in Middle Earth) and it is not likely to focus on the 'War of the Ring' storyline. TheOneRing.net put out a series of tweets addressing what this means for Middle Earth - they said: "From the first press release, we know this so-called #LOTR series will NOT be a retelling of the events of the War of the Ring. #BeenThereDoneThat. Advert 10 "Instead it will be Appendices based and cover a lot of time and history. "This is the greatest advantage the show runners have: that so much of Tolkien's storytelling, even just in "Appendix A," covers a tremendous swath of time. "Starting with a young Aragorn narrative allows connections to his Numenorean bloodline (and to the founding of #Gondor). "We could, in flashbacks, learn essentials about the men of #Arnor, sister kingdom in the north to #Gondor, and how the surviving #Dunedain became a community of Rangers, seeking to protect the north from incursions of the Witch-king of Angmar." Advert 10 Credit: New Line Cinema If you haven't seen the movies or read the books then those words will essentially be gibberish, but if you have a semi-decent knowledge of Middle Earth then you'll know there is plenty of material to work with. Amazon certainly has a big enough budget (estimated to be a casual $1 billion) to play with special effects and delve into the rich world that J R R Tolkien created. Last year Amazon beat Netflix to the rights to make the series when they sealed a $250m deal with the estate of author J.R.R. Tolkien, Harper Collins, and New Line Cinema. Advert 10