The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

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"The Rings of Power" redirects here. For the titular Middle-earth objects, see Rings of Power. For other uses, see Rings of Power (disambiguation).
The Lord of the Rings:
The Rings of Power
The series' title, "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power", in silver metal letters on a black background.
Genre <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Based on The Lord of the Rings and appendices
by J. R. R. Tolkien
Developed by <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • J. D. Payne
  • Patrick McKay
Starring See below
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
Production
Executive producer(s) <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Producer(s) <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • Ron Ames
  • Christopher Newman
Production location(s) <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Production company(s) <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Distributor Amazon Studios
Release
Original network Prime Video
External links
[{{#property:P856}} Website]

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is an upcoming American fantasy television series based on the novel The Lord of the Rings and its appendices by J. R. R. Tolkien. Developed by J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay for the streaming service Prime Video, the series is set thousands of years before Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings in the Second Age of Middle-earth. It is produced by Amazon Studios with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins, and New Line Cinema. Payne and McKay serve as showrunners.

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 in July 2018, with the rest of the creative team publicly revealed a year later. The series is primarily based on the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, which include discussion of the Second Age, and it features a large cast from around the world. For legal reasons it is not a direct continuation of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit film trilogies, but the production intended to evoke the films with similar production design and younger versions of characters who appear in them. Filming for the first eight-episode season took place in New Zealand, where the films were produced, from February 2020 to August 2021, with a production break of several months during that time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The season is scheduled to premiere on Prime Video on September 2, 2022.

In August 2021, Amazon announced that production for future seasons would take place in the United Kingdom. Filming for the second season is expected to begin by mid-2022.

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Premise

Set thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, the series is based on author J. R. R. Tolkien's history of Middle-earth. It begins during a time of relative peace and covers all the major events of Middle-earth's Second Age: the forging of the Rings of Power, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, the fall of the island kingdom of Númenor, and the last alliance between Elves and Men.[1] These events take place over thousands of years in Tolkien's original stories but are condensed for the series.[2]

Cast and characters

The following actors have been cast in undisclosed roles:[9][10][11]

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Episodes

No. Title Directed by Written by Original release date
1 "Shadow of the Past"[2] J. A. Bayona[12] Story by: J. D. Payne & Patrick McKay
Teleplay by: J. D. Payne & Patrick McKay[13]		 September 2, 2022 (2022-09-02)[14]

J. A. Bayona also directed the second episode.[12] Wayne Che Yip directed four episodes of the season,[15] and Charlotte Brändström directed two.[16]

Production

Development

Deal and announcement

In July 2017, a lawsuit was settled between Warner Bros., the studio behind the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit film trilogies, and the estate of author J. R. R. Tolkien upon whose books those films were based. With the two sides "on better terms", they began shopping a potential television series based on Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings to several outlets, including Amazon, Netflix, and HBO,[17] with a starting price of US$200 million.[2] Amazon emerged as the frontrunner by September and entered negotiations for the series.[18][19] Uncommonly for programming developments at the studio, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos was personally involved with the negotiations.[19] Bezos is a big fan of the franchise,[2] and he had previously given Amazon Studios a mandate to develop an ambitious fantasy series of comparable scale to HBO's Game of Thrones which made Amazon the lead contender for the project.[17]

On November 13, 2017, Amazon acquired the global television rights for close to US$250 million. Industry commentators described this amount—before any production costs and without any creative talent attached to the project—as "insane",[17] though some considered the project to be more of a reputational risk for Amazon than a financial one due to Bezos's wealth.[2] Amazon's streaming service Prime Video gave a multi-season commitment to the series that was believed to be for five seasons, with the possibility of a spin-off series as well. Despite this, Prime Video had to give a formal greenlight to future seasons before work could begin on them.[20] The budget was expected to be in the range of US$100–150 million per season, and was likely to eventually exceed US$1 billion which would make it the most expensive television series ever made.[17][18] Warner Bros. Television was not involved in the project because Amazon Studios wanted to produce it themselves. Amazon is working with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins, and New Line Cinema (the Warner Bros. division who produced the films),[17] with New Line included due to the potential for the series to use material from the films.[18] The Tolkien Estate imposed some creative restrictions on the series,[17][21] and the deal stipulated that production begin within two years.[18]

Creative team

In April 2018, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film director Peter Jackson had begun discussing his potential involvement with Amazon,[18] but by June he was not expected to be involved in the series.[22] Later that month, Head of Amazon Studios Jennifer Salke said discussions regarding Jackson's involvement were ongoing, and added that the deal for the series had only been officially completed a month earlier. The studio had been meeting with potential writers about the project and intended to have a game plan for the series and a writing team set "very soon", with the hope that the series could debut in 2021.[23] Amazon hired J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay to develop the series in July.[24] The pair were an unlikely choice, having only done unproduced or uncredited writing before the series, but their vision for the project aligned with Amazon's and they were championed to the studio by director J. J. Abrams who had worked with them on an unproduced Star Trek film.[2] In December, Jackson said he and his producing partners would potentially read scripts for the series and offer notes on them, but otherwise would not be involved. He stated, "If we can help them we certainly will try",[25] and also expressed excitement at being able to watch a Tolkien adaptation as an audience member since he could not for the films he made.[26]

Bryan Cogman joined the series as a consultant in May 2019 after signing an overall deal with Amazon. Cogman previously served as a writer on Game of Thrones, and was set to work alongside Payne and McKay in developing the new series.[27] In July, J. A. Bayona was hired to direct the first two episodes of the series and serve as executive producer alongside his producing partner Belén Atienza.[12] Later that month, Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss were in discussions with several outlets regarding signing an overall deal, including with Amazon who were interested in having the pair consult on The Lord of the Rings;[28] they ultimately signed a deal with Netflix instead.[29] At the end of July, Amazon announced that Payne and McKay would serve as showrunners and executive producers for the series, and revealed the full creative team that was working on the project: executive producers Bayona, Atienza, Bruce Richmond, Gene Kelly, Lindsey Weber, and Sharon Tal Yguado; co-producer Ron Ames; costume designer Kate Hawley; production designer Rick Heinrichs; visual effects supervisor Jason Smith; and illustrator/concept artist John Howe, who was one of the chief conceptual designers on the films.[30][31] Special effects company Weta Workshop and visual effects vendor Weta Digital were also expected to be involved in the series as they were for the films.[32] Additionally, Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey was revealed to be working on the series,[31] but he was no longer involved by April 2020;[33] other Tolkien scholars and "lore experts" remained involved.[34]

Following development of the first season, Cogman left the series to focus on developing new projects. Kelly also left the series,[35] while Yguado left when she exited her role as Amazon Studios' head of genre programming.[2] Callum Greene joined as a new executive producer by December 2020,[35] after previously serving as producer on The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013).[36] Heinrichs was eventually replaced as production designer by Ramsey Avery.[37] In March 2021, Wayne Che Yip was announced as director for four episodes of the series, and was set as a co-executive producer.[15] Charlotte Brändström was revealed as director for another two episodes in May.[16] Howard Shore was in talks to compose the music for the series by late September, returning from the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films.[38]

Seasons

Prime Video gave the series a multi-season commitment, believed to be for five seasons, as part of the initial deal with the Tolkien Estate,[18][17] though the streaming service still had to give a formal greenlight to future seasons before work could begin on them.[20] In July 2019, Shippey stated that he believed the first season of the series was supposed to consist of 20 episodes.[21] In November, Amazon officially ordered a second season of the series, and scheduled a longer-than-usual four or five month production break after completion of filming on the first two episodes. This was to allow all the footage for the first episodes to be reviewed, and so the series' writers room could be reconvened to begin work on the second season before filming on the first season continued. This gave the series the option to film the first two seasons back-to-back, as the Lord of the Rings films had been.[20] Amazon announced that the first season would consist of eight episodes in January 2020,[39] and revealed the series' full title, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, in January 2022. Payne and McKay felt the title could "live on the spine of a book next to J.R.R. Tolkien's other classics".[1]

Writing

A writers room for the series had begun work in Santa Monica by mid-February 2019. Salke described extensive security measures that were being taken to keep details of this writing secret, including windows being taped closed and a security guard requiring fingerprint clearance from those entering the room.[40] In addition to Payne and McKay, writers on the series include Gennifer Hutchison, Helen Shang, Jason Cahill, Justin Doble, Bryan Cogman, and Stephany Folsom, with Glenise Mullins acting as a consulting writer.[30][31] The writers room was set to be disbanded once production on the series began, but would be reconvened during the four or five month break in filming that was scheduled following production on the first two episodes. The writers were expected to map out the second season and write the majority of its scripts during this production break.[20]

The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are set during the Third Age of Middle-earth, with the First and Second Ages being explored in other Tolkien writings such as The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, and The History of Middle-earth. Amazon bought the television rights to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit,[3] but not for the Third Age events which were held by Middle-earth Enterprises.[21] The writers had to identify all of the references to the First and Second Ages in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, which are primarily in the appendices of The Lord of the Rings but also in certain chapters and songs, and then create a story that bridged those passages.[3] Tolkien's estate was prepared to veto any changes from his established narrative,[21] including anything that "egregiously" contradicted what Tolkien wrote in other works about the First and Second Ages.[3] The writers were free to add characters or details in the gaps between the passages that they could adapt,[21] and worked with the estate and Tolkien lore experts to ensure that the stories they created were still "Tolkienian" and true to the source material.[3] The writers also referenced letters that Tolkien had written about his works and mythology, including some letters that were not well-known to fans, using these for additional context on the series' setting and characters.[3][41]

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"Can we come up with the novel Tolkien never wrote and do it as the mega-event series that could only happen now?"

Co-showrunner Patrick McKay on the "driving question" behind the series[2]

The series is mostly set in the Second Age, but does contain some flashbacks to the First.[3] Payne and McKay knew from the beginning of development that the series was expected to run for five seasons, which meant elements of the final season could be set-up in the first. The final shot of the series was planned before work on the first season was completed.[42] The showrunners pitched "50 hours of television" to Amazon and Tolkien's estate,[2] with a story that weaves together a large cast of characters using all of the major events from the Second Age as a backdrop. These events include the forging of the Rings of Power, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, the fall of the island kingdom of Númenor, and the last alliance between Elves and Men.[3] The biggest deviation the writers made from Tolkien's works, which was approved by the estate and lore experts, was to condense these events from taking place over thousands of years into a short time period. This was to avoid the human characters frequently dying throughout the series due to their relatively short lifespans, and to allow major characters from later in the timeline to be introduced earlier in the series.[2] The series includes Harfoots, precursors to the popular Hobbit race from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Payne and McKay felt the series would not truly feel like Middle-earth to the audience without Hobbits, but Tolkien's writings state that the Hobbits were not known during the Second Age, so they chose to explore the Harfoots instead since they were "satisfyingly Hobbit-adjacent".[2]

After the series was revealed to have hired Jennifer Ward-Lealand as an intimacy coordinator, Tolkien fans expressed concern that it would include Game of Thrones-style graphic sex as well as violence.[43] Payne and McKay said this would not be the case and the series would be family-friendly, with their hope being that it would evoke the tone of Tolkien's books which can be "intense, sometimes quite political, sometimes quite sophisticated—but it's also heartwarming and life-affirming and optimistic."[2] Because they were mostly not able to adapt direct dialogue from Tolkien's Second Age stories, the writers attempted to repurpose Tolkien's dialogue that they did have access to while also taking inspiration from religious texts and poetry. They tailored the dialogue to different characters using dialects and poetic meters.[3]

Design

It was Jackson's understanding in December 2018 that the series would be set in the same continuity as the films and Amazon wanted to be consistent with the general designs and style that were created for the films.[26] Illustrator and concept artist John Howe reiterated this in August 2019, saying the showrunners were determined to remain faithful to the designs of the film trilogies as well as the spirit of the books.[44] Payne and McKay later clarified that, for legal reasons, the series is not actually a direct continuation of the films, but they did not want it to "clash" with the films and tried to have similar designs. They took advantage of Howe's experience working on Jackson's adaptations, as well as that of costume designer Kate Hawley who worked on The Hobbit films. Other influences included the 1977 animated television adaptation of The Hobbit by Rankin/Bass.[3] Howe had filled 40 sketchbooks with different drawings for the project by May 2022, and said the biggest difference between working on the films and series for him was that the series visited new locations such as the oceans of Middle-earth.[45]

Jamie Wilson was the head of prosthetics for the series after previously working on the film trilogies. He noted that there had been advancements in the technology available since the films were produced, including encapsulated silicone that looks much more like real skin than previous techniques. The prosthetics team also worked closely with the series' visual effects department for digital "tweaks" to the prosthetics. The showrunners were particularly interested in the series' depiction of Orcs and ensuring that practical effects were used where possible. Wilson explained that the Orcs in the series were intended to be "younger"-looking than those in the films, since these groups are just emerging from hiding. Because of this, the series' Orcs feature less battle-scars than those in the films and are also lighter-skinned with some skin conditions caused by new exposure to the sun.[46]

Casting

Salke stated in June 2018 that though the series would not be a remake of the films, it would bring back some characters from them.[47] By July 2019, casting for the series was taking place around the world, with casting directors working in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.[48] Casting for extras also began in New Zealand at that time.[49] Due to the secrecy surrounding the series, many actors did not know what roles they were going to play when they were cast.[2] Markella Kavenagh was in talks to portray a character referred to as "Tyra" at the end of July,[50] a series regular role.[48] Will Poulter was cast as one of the series' leads, reportedly called "Beldor", in September.[51][52] The role was described as being "one of the more coveted jobs" for young actors in Hollywood before Poulter's casting.[52] Maxim Baldry was informally attached to the series in a "significant role" in mid-October,[53][54] while Joseph Mawle was cast later that month. Mawle was reportedly playing the series' lead villain, referred to as "Oren".[55] In December, Ema Horvath was cast in another series regular role;[56] Poulter was forced to leave the series due to scheduling conflicts, with his role set to be recast;[57][58] and Morfydd Clark was cast as a young version of the character Galadriel, who was portrayed in the films by Cate Blanchett.[59]

Robert Aramayo was cast in the lead role for the series, replacing Poulter, in early January 2020.[60] He was later revealed to be playing a young version of the character Elrond, who was portrayed by Hugo Weaving in the films.[61] A week after Aramayo's casting, Amazon officially announced his involvement along with the casting of Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Budge, Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Horvath, Kavenagh, Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, and Daniel Weyman. Amazon's co-head of television Vernon Sanders noted that there were still some key roles that had yet to be filled.[9] One of these key roles was confirmed to go to Baldry in March, when his deal for the series was completed.[54] Baldry replaces Harry Sinclair as Isildur, who appeared in flashbacks during the films.[61] In December 2020, Amazon announced 20 new cast members for the series: Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Baldry, newcomer 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, and Sara Zwangobani.[10] Walker portrays Gil-galad, who was briefly played by Mark Ferguson in the films.[3]

In March 2021, Budge announced that he had departed the series after filming several episodes. He explained that Amazon had reviewed the first episodes and decided to recast his character,[62] who was reported to be Celebrimbor.[34] Charles Edwards was cast to replace him as Celebrimbor in July,[2][11] when Will Fletcher, Amelie Child-Villiers, and Beau Cassidy were also added to the season's cast.[11] Seven of the series' main actors are New Zealanders, and overall a third of the first season's 124 speaking roles went to New Zealand actors.[32] The rest of the cast came from Australia, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, and the United States.[10]

Filming

New Zealand

Salke said in June 2018 that the series could be produced in New Zealand, where the films were made, but Amazon was also willing to shoot in other countries as long as they could "provide those locations in a really authentic way, because we want it to look incredible".[47] Pre-production on the series reportedly began around that time in Auckland,[63] while location scouting also took place in Scotland, including around the Isle of Skye, Portpatrick, Scourie, Perthshire, and Loch Lomond.[64] Amazon and Creative Scotland held talks about the series being based at new studios that were under construction in Leith, Edinburgh.[65] In December, Amazon held a "crisis meeting" with David Parker, then New Zealand's Minister of Economic Development, after the studio threatened to take the production out of the country due to the lack of available studio space in Auckland.[66] New Zealand's Major Screen Production Grant, which provides tax rebates for productions, was offered to Amazon, but Parker did not propose any special deal because he wanted the series to be made "on terms that are good for New Zealand".[67]

Amazon decided to film in New Zealand, and were reportedly influenced by the New Zealand government's reassurances that the country was safe following the Christchurch mosque shootings in March 2019, as well as concern regarding the potential effects of Brexit in Scotland. Production was set to primarily take place in Auckland, but additional filming was expected to take place in Queenstown and other locations around New Zealand.[68] Auckland was chosen as the primary filming location in New Zealand because the Wellington studios that the films were produced in were being used by the Avatar films at the time. Leases for the series at Kumeu Film Studios and Auckland Film Studios took effect in July,[63] and Amazon officially confirmed that the series would be filmed in New Zealand in September 2019 after completing negotiations with the New Zealand Government, the New Zealand Film Commission, and Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED). The studio said filming would begin in the "coming months", with some specific locations still being discussed with ATEED. Payne and McKay said the creative team chose New Zealand because they needed "somewhere majestic, with pristine coasts, forests, and mountains" that could also meet the production requirements of the series.[69][70]

Through New Zealand's Major Screen Production Grant, all film and television productions receive a 20 per cent tax rebate, with those that offer "significant economic benefits" able to negotiate for an additional 5 per cent rebate.[71] To gain access to the latter, Amazon signed two Memoranda of Understanding in December 2020 with the New Zealand Film Commission, Tourism New Zealand, and the country's Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).[72] One memorandum outlined Amazon's overall obligations in exchange for the extra refund, and the other was specific to the first season. Further memoranda needed to be signed for future seasons. The agreements allowed Tourism New Zealand to promote the country using material from the series, while Amazon would work with the Film Commission to help grow the country's screen sector and with MBIE to run an "innovation program" to benefit New Zealand companies and research groups.[72][71] Details of the memoranda were revealed in April 2021,[71] when New Zealand's Minister of Economic Development and Tourism, Stuart Nash, revealed that Amazon was spending NZ$650 million (US$465 million) on the first season, making it eligible for NZ$160 million (US$114 million) in tax rebates. James Hibberd at The Hollywood Reporter noted that the US$465 million amount "almost certainly" included additional costs to the season's production budget, including the startup costs of building sets, costumes, and props that would be used in future seasons as well.[73] Salke soon confirmed this, describing the cost as a "crazy headline that's fun to click on, but that is really building the infrastructure of what will sustain the whole series".[74] In August, Amazon announced that it was moving production of future seasons to the United Kingdom and would not preserve the terms of the memoranda that they had signed. Nash confirmed that the series was no longer eligible for the additional rebate (around NZ$33 million or US$23 million).[75][76]

Season 1

Table reads with the cast began in New Zealand by mid-January 2020, ahead of the start of filming in early February.[9][77] The production was based in Auckland, primarily at Kumeu Film Studios and Auckland Film Studios,[63] and used the working title Untitled Amazon Project or simply UAP.[78] Bayona directed the first two episodes.[12] Óscar Faura, who served as director of photography on all of Bayona's previous films, returned to work with Bayona on the series.[79] Aaron Morton and Alex Disenhof also worked as cinematographers on the first season.[80][81] While rehearsing a stunt at Kumeu on February 7, stuntwoman Elissa Cadwell was injured when she struck her head while falling into a water tank. Amazon reviewed the incident and notified New Zealand's workplace health and safety regulator WorkSafe on February 14. By then, Caldwell was recovering from her injuries after being treated in hospital.[82] Amazon paid Caldwell NZ$500,000 which was partly to help her return home to Australia.[83]

Location filming took place around Auckland in February.[84] Filming for the first two episodes was expected to continue through May,[85] with a four- or five-month production break then planned during which footage for the two episodes would be reviewed and writing on the second season would begin.[20] Production was scheduled to resume in mid-October and continue until late June 2021.[85] However, filming was placed on hold indefinitely in mid-March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with around 800 cast and crew members told to stay home.[78] In early May, the majority of filming for the first two episodes was confirmed to have been completed before the COVID-19 shutdown. Filming on the series was allowed to resume then under new safety guidelines from the New Zealand government, but, instead of completing filming for the first two episodes at that time, the filming shutdown segued into the intended production break, with filming for the first two episodes set to be completed once filming on further episodes was ready to begin.[86]

The series was one of seven film and television productions that were granted exemptions to allow cast and crew members to enter New Zealand while its borders were closed to non-New Zealanders due to COVID-19. The exemptions were granted before June 18 by Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford, and applied to 93 members of the production as well as 20 family members. Around 10 percent of the series' crew were believed to be non-New Zealanders, and many of them had remained in the country during its pandemic lockdown and did not require exemptions. Pre-production on further episodes began by July 2020,[87] and filming on the series resumed on September 28.[88] Bayona completed filming on his episodes by December 23,[89] with production on further episodes set to begin in January 2021 following a two-week break for Christmas.[89][90] Yip confirmed that he had begun filming his episodes by March,[15] and Brändström was in New Zealand for production on the series when she was announced as director in May.[16]

Walker said at the end of June that he was not sure how much longer the cast would be required to stay in New Zealand, saying the timeline for the production was "a bit nebulous" and Amazon would "let us go when they're done with us".[91] In early July, several stunt performers alleged that a senior stunt supervisor for the production had created an "uneasy environment" that contributed to an unsafe workplace, with at least three stunt performers being seriously injured on the set. This included stuntwoman Dayna Grant, who suffered a head injury on set in March and was diagnosed with a brain aneurysm and upper spinal injury; fans crowdfunded NZ$100,000 to help Grant pay for surgery. The production's head of safety, Willy Heatley, said the injury rate was 0.065 percent across the 16,200 days of stunt work on the series since filming began, and this was mostly due to "common stunt-related sprains, bruises and muscle and soft tissue strains". Amazon Studios said safety was a top priority for the company and they were following all of WorkSafe's regulations.[83]

In late July, main production for the first season was reported to have been completed in April 2021.[34] Filming for the season officially wrapped on August 2.[14] Around a third of filming took place on location around New Zealand, including at the Hauraki Gulf, the Coromandel Peninsula, the Denize Bluffs in the King Country, Mount Kidd in Fiordland, Piha, and Rangitikei.[32] The showrunners noted that, unlike the films, they were able to use New Zealand's coastlines for this story. They had also intended to film in the Waitomo Caves for scenes set in the city of Khazad-dûm, but this proved to be impractical.[3] More than 1,000 New Zealanders were contracted for the season, with around 700 more indirectly engaged by it.[32]

United Kingdom

At the end of filming for the season, the crew were unsure when filming for the second season would begin though there was expected to be a hiatus of at least one year to allow post-production on the first season and writing for the second season to be completed. Amazon retained its lease on Auckland Film Studios and Kumeu Film Studios, and reportedly Studio West also, for the duration of the hiatus, which allowed the series' sets to remain at the studios and prevented other productions from using the space.[32]

The week after filming ended, Amazon announced that it was moving production of the series to the United Kingdom starting with the second season. At that time, Amazon was in the process of booking studio space in the UK,[75] with Scotland reported to be the frontrunner for new shooting locations.[92] The company planned to ship all of the sets that were built for the first season to the UK, and hire a new UK-based crew since the majority of the first season's crew was New Zealand-based.[75] Factors that played a role in the change included Amazon already heavily investing in UK studio space for several other productions; a belief that the UK would be a "more economical choice" following the high cost of making the first season in New Zealand;[93] the opportunity to film in other European countries near the UK as was done for the series Game of Thrones;[75] the Tolkien Estate wanting the series to be filmed in the UK since Tolkien was inspired by locations there for his books;[92] and the fact that New Zealand's restrictive pandemic-era border policies had prevented Amazon executives from visiting and monitoring the production, while many international cast members (more than half of whom are British) were unable to leave the country for nearly two years during filming of the first season.[75] Amazon had offered in August 2020 to pay for the use of hotels and rental properties as private quarantine facilities to give the production more flexibility with travel, but this idea was rejected by the New Zealand government due to the need for additional services related to quarantining.[94] In the UK, 80 per cent of expenditure is eligible for a 25 per cent tax rebate through the government's "high-end television" tax relief program.[95][96]

Season 2

Pre-production for the second season is expected to begin in the UK in the second quarter of 2022,[97] taking place concurrently with post-production for the first season which is continuing in New Zealand until June 2022.[75] Bray Film Studios and Bovingdon Airfield, both outside of London, will be the initial production locations for the season.[97] Filming on the second season is expected to begin by the middle of the year.[97]

Marketing

Early promotions for the series on social media used several maps of Middle-earth's Second Age, as well as excerpts from the novel The Lord of the Rings.[21][98] The maps were designed and created by illustrator John Howe and overseen by Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey to ensure they were accurate to Tolkien's works.[98] Howe and Shippey spent a lot of time working on the maps, which were based on Tolkien's maps of Númenor during the Second Age as well as his maps of the Third Age. Despite their efforts, HarperCollins received complaints from fans shortly after the maps were released online regarding two mistakes that were made on them.[44]

Amazon considered the reveal of the series' full title in January 2022 to be crucial due to it beginning the series' marketing campaign at the start of its premiere year. Instead of just using visual effects to create the title reveal, the studio released an announcement video in which the letters of the title are physically cast from molten metal while an excerpt of the "Ring Verse" from The Lord of the Rings is read in voiceover. The video was directed by Klaus Obermeyer, who worked with special effects supervisor Lee Nelson under advisement by veteran special effects supervisor Douglas Trumbull.[99] They filmed the video with foundryman Landon Ryan in late 2021 in Los Angeles, after experimenting with different combinations of metals, as well as sparkler dust, argon pours, and liquid hydrogen, to create the desired look. The final metal was a mixture of bronze and aluminum which was poured into moulds of compressed sand that could be used multiple times. The pouring was filmed at 5,000 frames per second with a Phantom Flex4K camera so it could be shown in ultra-slow motion.[100] For the final title card, the forged letters were inscribed with Elvish writing and placed on a large piece of redwood. Staff from the Tolkien fan website TheOneRing.net and entertainment journalists were invited by Amazon to watch the filming of the video.[99][100] Prologue Films provided previsualization for the sequence as well as compositing and additional visual effects. They recreated the final title card digitally, taking care to maintain the "integrity of the live action shots and lighting".[101]

Twenty-three "character posters" for the series were released on February 3, though unusually they do not feature actor or character names and focus on the hands and torsos of the characters rather than their faces. Amazon said this was to "fuel fan speculation and discussion",[102][103] and it did lead to speculation and analysis about who each character could be.[103][104] A first look at some of the series' main characters was then revealed on February 10 along with story details,[2] before the first teaser trailer was released on February 13, during Super Bowl LVI. TheOneRing.net hosted an official "watch party" for the trailer on YouTube,[105] while some "high-profile" fans were flown to Bellver Castle in the Balearic Islands, Spain, to help promote the teaser globally.[106] Commentators noted that the teaser did not reveal many new details about the series,[107][108][109][110] but Graeme Guttmann of Screen Rant felt it did not hold back on "epic" spectacle.[107] The Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd also described the teaser as epic, and felt it showed off the series' large budget,[108] while Susana Polo at Polygon said it "wastes no time reintroducing viewers to the lush fantasy setting many know" from Jackson's film adaptations.[109] Writing for IGN, Amelia Emberwing said the most successful aspect of the teaser was that "it feels like The Lord of the Rings" and appeared to balance the "serenity and dangers of Middle-earth" like the films did.[110] In contrast, Jack Butler of National Review had felt the first look images were "Tolkienesque" but was less sure about the teaser, which led him to think that the series would be more reliant on visual effects than the "grounded approach" of Jackson's films.[111] Kevin E G Perry of The Independent was even more critical of the visual effects, saying the trailer looked "cheap" and like a "cut scene from an old Final Fantasy computer game".[112] RelishMix reported that the teaser trailer had 80.34 million views in 24 hours across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram, which was the third highest among those airing during the Super Bowl according to their metrics.[113] Amazon reported 257 million views within 24 hours, which they said was a record for any film or television trailer released during the Super Bowl.[106]

In response to some fan concerns regarding the teaser trailer, Amazon invited several Tolkien critics, fan websites, and influencers to a screening in May 2022. They were flown to Merton College, Oxford, where Tolkien worked as a professor, and shown 20 minutes of completed footage from the series.[41][114] They also talked to the showrunners and Howe.[45] Justin Sewell of TheOneRing.net said they were unable to discuss details, but the footage "looks like it should, sounds like it should, and feels like a return to the comfortable universe we all love", addressing the concerns of most of the fans in attendance.[114] Kaitlyn Facista, writing for the Tea with Tolkien blog, said the footage immersed her in Middle-earth in a way that the teaser trailer did not,[41] and she was impressed by the showrunners' knowledge of the source material. Others reported that the screening and discussion with the showrunners made them "cautiously optimistic" about the series. Corey Olsen, a teacher and podcaster known as the "Tolkien Professor", felt after meeting the showrunners that the series was in "very good hands".[115]

A new book chronicling the events of Middle-earth's Second Age was announced in June 2022. Titled The Fall of Númenor, it was compiled and edited by Tolkien scholar Brian Sibley from Tolkien's writings about the Second Age. The book will be published in November 2022, following the release of the first season of The Rings of Power, to capitalize on new interest in Tolkien's works arising from the series' release.[116]

Release

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is scheduled to premiere on the streaming service Prime Video on September 2, 2022, with new episodes released on a weekly basis.[14]

Reception

Henry revealed in October 2021 that he and other people of color had been cast as Harfoots in the series, which aligned to Tolkien's description of the Harfoots as being "browner of skin".[117] Several non-white actors were also cast as Elves and Dwarves for the first time in the franchise. Amazon received backlash online from some groups after this was revealed through promotional images, with complaints that the series did not primarily feature white characters and actors like Tolkien's writings and the film adaptations.[2] The series' official social media accounts removed some of these comments which were deemed to be racist.[118] The producers expected to receive responses like this from some people, but they chose to hire a more diverse cast anyway because they wanted to ensure that it reflected "what the world actually looks like" and felt that would be closer to the spirit of the books. Weber stated, "Tolkien is for everyone. His stories are about his fictional races doing their best work when they leave the isolation of their own cultures and come together."[2]

References

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External links

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