Amazon has found the right person to guide its forthcoming Lord of the Rings series. This week, Deadline announced director J.A. Bayona had been secured as the series director. Bayona will oversee direction on the series' first two episodes, establishing the look and feel of the series as well as setting the course for the rest of the season's direction. Bayona will be the second director to bring author J.R.R. Tolkien's work to life, following in the footsteps of director Peter Jackson who helmed a trilogy based on Tolkien's Lord of the Rings novels and a trilogy based on The Hobbit.

Bayona feels like a solid choice to take the Lord of the Rings reins considering the kinds of films he's directed in the past. Most recently, he directed Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, starring Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Pratt. Previous to that, Bayona was known for his direction on A Monster Calls and The Orphanage. In a statement shared via press release, Bayona expressed his excitement at coming aboard the series, sharing,

"J.R.R. Tolkien created one of the most extraordinary and inspiring stories of all time, and as a lifelong fan it is an honor and a joy to join this amazing team. I can’t wait to take audiences around the world back to Middle-earth and have them discover the wonders of the Second Age, with a never-before-seen story."

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Image via Universal Pictures

The Lord of the Rings TV series will be set during Middle-Earth's Second Age, showing the life-changing events which precede The Fellowship of the RingGame of Thrones writer and executive Bryan Cogman signed on in May to write the series. No casting announcements have been made yet. Similarly, there have been no announcements made in regards to shooting locations, an expected release date, nor have any pre-production stills or concept art been released (aside from a stunning, clue-filled map of Middle Earth).

Amazon's Lord of the Rings series will reportedly span five seasons, showing key events which occurred during Middle-Earth's Second Age, including Sauron's rise and the forging of the rings of power — including the ring. Fingers crossed Bayona and Cogman are able to hold on to the majesty and epic scale of previous Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films. But let's cross those fingers even hard these two find a way to breathe some new life into the franchise and find a way to filter this world through their own unique lens.

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Image via Universal Pictures
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Image via Focus Features
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Image via Picturehouse