The first season of Amazon Prime’s Big Budget Middle Earth series has now wrapped filming.
To mark this occasion the first official image from the series along with it’s premiere
date were unveiled.
In this video I’d like to discuss the latest news as well as briefly examine the image
itself that was released.
It has certainly been a long and expensive journey for the creators of this Lord of the
Rings Second Age Series.
Amazon first announced that a Lord of the Rings Show was officially in development all
the way back in November of 2017 when they purchased the television rights to the Lord
of the Rings for 250 million dollars.
Shortly afterward it was confirmed that this was intended to be a multiple season series
with the potential for a spin off as well.
This production commitment is said to be worth around 1 billion dollars.
While initially the series was intended to premiere late 2021 things certainly didn’t
go exactly as planned and in Amazon Studios Official Press Release it was revealed that
the highly anticipated fantasy epic will now premiere on Amazon Prime Friday September
2, 2022.
Despite the fact that filming has wrapped there is obviously much more work to do as
fans still have to wait another year.
In the official press release Jennifer Salke (saulkee) head of Amazon Studios said quote:
“The journey begins September 2, 2022 with the premiere of our original ‘The Lord of
the Rings’ series on Prime Video,” said Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon Studios.
“I can’t express enough just how excited we all are to take our global audience on
a new and epic journey through Middle-earth!
Our talented producers, cast, creative, and production teams have worked tirelessly in
New Zealand to bring this untold and awe-inspiring vision to life.”
Showrunners and executive producers J.D. Payne & Patrick McKay added to this statement saying
quote: “As Bilbo says, ‘Now I think I am quite ready to go on another journey.’
Living and breathing Middle-earth these many months has been the adventure of a lifetime.
We cannot wait for fans to have the chance to do so as well,” said Payne and McKay.
As detailed in an article by Deadline once this as yet untitled series makes its debut
exclusively on the streaming service new episodes will be released weekly and will be available
in more than 240 territories and countries worldwide.
It has been confirmed that this new series will primarily be set in the Second Age of
Middle Earth.
The official synopsis for the show reads “Amazon Studios’ forthcoming series 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 the greatest villain 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 re-emergence 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 furthest reaches of the
map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they
are gone.”
The first image that Amazon released is stunning and certainly conveys the majestic lands of
Tolkien’s creation.
What came as a big surprise to fans however is that it reveals that even though the show
is set in the second age it can and will also include sequences referencing the Years of
the Trees and likely The First Age that follows.
This has already been a subject of much speculation as many events in these time periods directly
impact the stories told in the Second Age.
This image was also confirmed as being from the pilot episode of the series and as such
could very well be part of a narrative flashback similar to how the film the Fellowship of
the ring begins with a summary of significant events of the previous age.
It’s quite possible that there could be more flashback sequences if it is directly
related to the events featured in this new series.
Amazon did not confirm who is the character or actor presented in the picture and it’s
difficult to ascertain who exactly this is.
Interestingly, this person is sporting either short hair or some sort of updo.
The hair color is also difficult to see.
My best guess is that it’s Galadriel though I’m unsure why Amazon wouldn’t confirm
this since we already know she’ll be in the series and that Morfyd Clark is playing
her.
We’ll just have to wait and see for more information.
Regarding the setting for this particular image, the most interesting and striking element
featured are the 2 trees of Valinor, These are the Undying Lands.
This confirms that this picture is from the time of the Years of the Trees.
At this point in time apart from the stars themselves these trees, Laurelin (the Gold
Tree) and Telperion (the Silver Tree), were the only 2 major luminaries that brought light
to the land of the Valar.
Galadriel took a special liking to Laurelin and it was said that her hair seemed to shine
with its golden radiance.
The light of these 2 great trees play an important role in the events that shape the first age.
Feanor, a Noldorin elf, was inspired to preserve the light of these great luminaries and thus
forged the Silmarils, the 3 greatest jewels ever crafted as they glow with the combined
radiance of the 2 trees.
Many events of the first age surround those who fiercely lust after and covet these precious
gems, events that would go to shape the course of the future.
Yes, perhaps this figure is indeed Galadriel standing here taking in the light and glory
of the trees as I can’t help but wonder if this character’s voice will once again
narrate the events of the past.
This is certainly some exciting imagery and I’m very intrigued about the prospect of
getting a glimpse into the events and settings presented in the times before the second age.
It’s recently been reported that the Tolkien estate is very happy with how things have
gone with the production of this series so far.
This along with the rumors of Amazon bringing in Three Tolkien scholars on set during production
serve as a basis for some hope in this series.
As the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility.
So certainly if Amazon is intending to showcase some of the well known major events from the
ancient history of Middle Earth, they’ll need all the help they can get in order to
depict these events in a way that Tolkien fans as well as general audiences will enjoy.
But I’m curious to know what you think about this latest news and imagery released from
Amazon’s Middle Earth series.
Are you excited for this new attempt at bringing Tolkien’s previously unadapted works to
the screen?
Do you have any theories as to who the figure might be showcased in the picture or what
this image could indicate regarding the stories featured in this new show?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
I hope you enjoyed this video.
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Thank you all so much for your support and as always have a very nerdy day.