Amazon's prequel series based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings has been a frequent source of buzz in the entertainment sphere. Amazon is pouring a record amount of money into the series, with the budget reaching a whopping $465 million. Not only that, but the series has garnered an impressive ensemble of underseen talent for the cast list, including Maxim Baldry (Skins), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Power), Kip Chapman (Top of the Lake), and Peter Mullen (War Horse). Now, Amazon has added four more actors to the cast, capping the total of main ensemble players at thirty-nine performers.
Amazon's Lord of the Rings show represents their biggest original series to date. Amazon has been known as a destination for shows of great quality including Bosch, Fleabag, The Marvelous Ms. Maisel, Invincible, and The Boys (which is currently preparing for its third season). Meanwhile, The Lord of the Rings has done an excellent job staying relevant in pop culture since the release of the original film trilogy and the Hobbit trilogy. Not only that but atypical avenues are being explored to revitalize and maintain interest in the Lord of the Rings franchise, as is evident by the Middle-Earth video game series and the upcoming anime Lord of the Rings film subtitled The War of the Rohirrim, which is directed by Blood: The Last Vampire screenwriter Kenji Kamiyama.
The four cast members added to Amazon's Lord of the Rings series are Charles Edwards, Will Fletcher, Amelie Child-Villiers, and Beau Cassidy. Edwards is a character actor known for portraying Martin Charteris in Netflix's The Crown and for appearing as Mr. Jenkins in Robert Zemeckis's The Witches. Fletcher is relatively new to acting and has a small role in the upcoming film The Road Dance, which takes place before World War I. Child-Villiers is a child actress who recently appeared in the horror film Censor, and for child actress Cassidy, the series represents her first acting role since 2016.
The Lord of the Rings television show also has a lot of exciting figures working behind the scenes. Patrick McKay and JD Vance, uncredited writers of Star Trek: Beyond, are the showrunners, with Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom director J.A. Bayona directing the first two episodes. The Witcher episode director Charlotte Brändström and Doctor Who episode director Wayne Yip will also be directing an unannounced number of episodes. Amazon is positioning their Lord of the Rings series to last for at least five seasons, with the potential of an added spin-off.
The Boys and Invincible were both important stepping stones toward gaining general audience attention with genre-specific adaptations, but their Lord of the Rings show will be their biggest step yet, as it is easily the most popular property they've been able to adapt. As a beloved franchise with successes in multiple forms of media, The Lord of the Rings has achieved a status of audience familiarity rivaled only by Star Wars, James Bond films, Harry Potter films, and films adapting Marvel and DC comics. It's safe to say that the series will continue to gain attention before, during, and after its release on Amazon Prime streaming.
The Lord of the Rings series is currently in production.
Source: Amazon Studios