We're on the verge of a return to Middle-Earth for fans of J. R. R. Tolkien’s world-renowned fantasy novel, The Lord of the Rings. Recently revealed is the news of a long adventure ahead as Amazon Prime Video’s Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has already been planned out beyond its inaugural season according to showrunners, JD Payne and Patrick McKay.
Many times, upon the release of a new series, people get attached to a new show only to be faced with the threat of cancellation. Despite having only two seasons confirmed by the streamer, Payne and co-showrunner McKay, alongside executive producer JA Bayona have a full stack of five seasons mapped out. “We even know what our final shot of the last episode is going to be,” Payne says in an interview with Empire detailing that the story being written would be one that begins to connect the beginning to the end from the start. Payne adds:
“The rights that Amazon bought were for a 50-hour show. They knew from the beginning that was the size of the canvas – this was a big story with a clear beginning, middle and end. There are things in the first season that don’t pay off until Season 5.”
The story being woven has a lot of expectations to live up to as fans of the original trilogy are anxiously awaiting the new series. Unlike the prequel trilogy, The Hobbit, which had already laid out plots, characters, and events to draw from in Tolkien’s main work, Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will delve into the Second Age of Middle-Earth with its source being the appendices of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. The focus will be on the history of Middle-Earth and the forging of the great rings of power. The rise of Sauron and the backstory that birthed the original trilogy thousands of years ago.
The show is set to have new perspectives and characters to what is widely known in the franchise, but it will be keeping with what the original creator had in mind. Payne discussed the breadth of mythology Tolkien had created which made his creativity flourish:
"It was like Tolkien put some stars in the sky and let us make out the constellations. In his letters [particularly in one to his publisher], Tolkien talked about wanting to leave behind a mythology that 'left scope for other minds and hands, wielding the tools of paint, music and drama.' We're doing what Tolkien wanted. As long as we felt like every invention of ours was true to his essence, we knew we were on the right track."
Mapping out an entire five-season series is commendable. However, whether the show will match expectations is yet to be seen. The cast of the new show will feature familiar characters like Isildur (Maxim Baldry), Lady Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), and Lord Elrond (Robert Aramayo). A world of elves, dwarves, and harfoots awaits when The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power debuts on Amazon on September 2.