Last week, we reported that Amazon was in talks with the estate of author J.R.R. Tolkien to make a television series based on his landmark Lord of the Rings series, classic fantasy books that heavily influenced George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels and which Warner Bros. adapted in to a landmark trilogy of movies back in the early ’00s. Well, now it’s official. Cue the press release:
“The Lord of the Rings is a cultural phenomenon that has captured the imagination of generations of fans through literature and the big screen,” said Sharon Tal Yguado, Head of Scripted Series, Amazon Studios. “We are honored to be working with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins and New Line on this exciting collaboration for television and are thrilled to be taking The Lord of the Rings fans on a new epic journey in Middle Earth.”
“We are delighted that Amazon, with its longstanding commitment to literature, is the home of the first-ever multi-season television series for The Lord of the Rings,” said Matt Galsor, a representative for the Tolkien Estate and Trust and HarperCollins. “Sharon and the team at Amazon Studios have exceptional ideas to bring to the screen previously unexplored stories based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s original writings.”
Amazon has “a long-standing commitment to literature?” Because it adapted Phillip K. Dick’s The Man in High Castle a couple years back? Because it sells books?
Moving on…
But here’s the twist: According to the press release, “the television adaptation will explore new storylines preceding J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring.” The language there is a little slippery, but outlets like Entertainment Weekly are reporting that to mean that the main story of The Lord of the Rings — with Frodo and Aragorn and Gollum and such — won’t appear on the show at all. In other words, it may share a few things in common with the forthcoming Game of Thrones prequels, of which there are currently five in development. Although we don’t yet know which of those will eventually make it to air, we know that they won’t touch on the War of the Five Kings, the tale currently unfolding on our screens.
Or they’ll begin the series before The Fellowship of the Rings and work their way up to the start of the story proper…it’s hard to be sure from the press release.
Anyway, Amazon has already made “a multi-season commitment” to whatever the show ends up being, with options for a spinoff. In other words, it is going all in. As EW points out, Amazon is so huge that it can afford this kind of gamble — even if the show is an expensive flop, Amazon can absorb the loss. On the other hand, if a comparatively small company like HBO is going to spend a bundle on a splashy fantasy series, it’s a bigger risk.
What do you guys think about all this? Because I’m torn. On the one hand, The Lord of the Rings is a classic fantasy franchise worthy of adaptation. But on the other hand, it was adapted…really well…and not that long ago. And if Amazon isn’t going to touch the original story, I’m even more nervous. Then it reminds me more of what Warner Bros. did with The Hobbit movies, where it made stuff up and stretched stuff out. It didn’t go well.
And the shadow of Game of Thrones — the medieval high fantasy series de jour — hangs over all of this. Amazon wants to find the next big thing, so it’s looking to the last big thing for inspiration. I dunno if that’s the right way to go about it.
We’ll see how it goes…
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