The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: 10 Things You Don’t Know About The Fantasy Tv Series

After months and months of armored sets and very little news released, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Prime Video’s newest fantasy product, is taking shape. The series, debuting on September 2, draws on the universe created by JRR Tolkien to tell some of the stories of the Second Age, an era that is thousands of years earlier than The Lord of the Rings. So don’t call it a prequel: creators Patrick McKay and JD Payne have been very clear on specifying that theirs is an independent story. While the wait becomes more and more intense with new trailers and new exclusive photos, here are 10 curiosities that (perhaps) you still don’t know about The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

1. The Authors Do Not Have The Rights To The Silmarillion

If you are a fan of Tolkien you will already know that the events of the Second Age are officially narrated within the book known as Silmarillion. It was therefore expected that after many years of rejection the Tolkien Estate – the legal body that owns and administers the intellectual property of the British writer JRR Tolkien – would eventually give in to sell the rights to one of the writer’s most valuable works. British. But no: the showrunners explained that Prime Video did not have access to the ability to play the book. So, what is The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power based on? on Lord of the Rings, or rather on the Appendices of the book where the events of the Second Era are summarized: the company took home the rights to Tolkien’s work for 250 million dollars.

2. The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power Is The Most Expensive Series Ever

As the sole amount used to purchase the rights of The Lord of the Rings suggests, The Rings of Power has an impressive budget, which total amounts to about 465 million dollars for the eight episodes that will make up the first season. An exorbitant figure, which covers the costs of production and postproduction, and which promises a production in great style. With this budget, the series breaks the record by becoming the most expensive TV show ever, surpassing the records held by The Crown (130 million per season) and Game of Thrones (about 10 million per episode, for a total of 73 million).

3. It Will Also Contain Original Stories

The news is official, and it is one of those that has made long-time fans of Tolkien’s stories tremble the most: The Rings of Power series will contain several original storylines, invented by the authors and not present in the Tolkien imaginary. The wood elf named Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova), for example, and the love affair with the human Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi). An almost obvious choice, given the lack of ownership of the rights of the book in which the hundreds of characters that characterize the history of the Second Era are outlined, but also dangerous. Why create new stories when Tolkien’s universe already has so many? According to the authors, they wanted to try “To create the novel that Tolkien never wrote and conceive it as a monumental series that could only be broadcast today.”

4. There Will Also Be Hobbits (More Or Less)

Another rather controversial point brought to light by the first news leaked from The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is the presence of hobbits, or at least their ancestors: the so-called pelopiedi  (or her foot, in the English version). The invention comes directly from Tolkien, who described them as a darker-skinned indigenous tribe, mostly located in mountainous areas and historically friendly to the dwarf population, but in theory, they shouldn’t appear before the advent of the Third Age. The authors, on the other hand, wanted to involve them in the series, stating that there can be no Middle-Earth without a hobbit. And so we’ll see Lenny Henry portray an elderly pelopod, and Megan Richards and Markella Kavenagh portray two curious pelopods who meet a mysterious man, whose origin promises to be one of the show’s most intriguing enigmas.

5. Five Seasons Are Already Planned

With such a complex and intricate story, which will move the ranks of about 22 main characters, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power had to be planned from start to finish, unlike how it normally happens for the writing of TV series. Precisely for this reason the showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay already know that the series will last 5 seasons, already planned in detail: a work necessary to be able to gradually present clues, joints and pieces of the story, which will reveal itself over time. Indeed, Payne said he already knows what the last shot of the finale will be: “We also know what the final shot of the last episode will be. The rights purchased by Amazon were for a 50 Hour show. They knew from the start that this was the dimension of the plot: it was a great story with a well-defined beginning, middle, and end. There are things in the first season that are only important in the fifth.”

6. It Was Shot In New Zealand

It was immediately made clear that The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is a product in its own right, unrelated to the iconic Peter Jackson trilogy. However, there is a continuity in the choice of locations: wonderful New Zealand, which returns to be Middle-Earth with all its beauty. As can already be seen from the exclusive clip released for Prime Video subscribers, the landscapes will be breathtaking, and the mountains, we had come to love in The Lord of the Rings are also added to the sea, which will have an important role in the course of this new history.

7. Orc Makeup Is Prosthetic

Another link with the trilogy is the special effects department: Weta Digital was chosen again, the New Zealand company of Peter Jackson that brought The Lord of the Rings to life and contributed to the creation of some of the most viewed films in the world. cinema history. A winning choice, as demonstrated by the first images released of the terrible orcs, entirely made with prosthetic make-up as told by Jamie Wilson, head of the prosthetic make-up department of the series, who had already worked in the Jackson trilogy: “Twenty years ago we used expanded latex, which is like a rubbery, spongy material with a smooth surface. Today everything is made of encapsulated silicone, which when applied to the face leaves the actor mobility and allows him to make up as if it were real skin. “There is no shortage of digital interventions, especially in mass scenes, but up close the tricks of the ogres are all prosthetic works.

8. Special Attention Has Been Paid To Languages

Anyone familiar with Tolkien’s world knows that languages ​​play a fundamental role in his universe: the Professor, in fact, before being a writer was a great and respected linguist and glottothete. Precisely for this reason in the creation of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, particular attention was paid to languages, a detail that will especially notice those who follow the series in the original language. In addition to invented languages, it was decided to create a particular language for each race and character: for example, the Pelopedes speak with an Irish cadence, while the elves speak with sentences in higher English; heroes even have a real metric: some speak in iambi, others in dactyls, others in trochei.

9. Changes Have Been Made In The Time Line And In The Aesthetic

From the first news release, it is evident that in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power choices have been made that deviate from Tolkien’s work, and that have already raised not a few controversies. First of all, one of the main discrepancies in the timeline: in the novels, the events of the series take place over thousands of years, while the showrunners have decided that all the events narrated will take place in the same period. “Even if some fans want a documentary about Middle-earth,” they explained, “we can’t jump 200 years and lose human characters every season: we tell a story that holds all of these things together. “Narrative freedom also concerns the choice of inserting a very inclusive and multicultural cast, which Tolkien does not refer to in his writings. A few examples? Actor Ismael Cruz Córdova is the first black person to play an Elf, while Iranian-born British actress Sophia Nomvete landed the role of dwarf princess Disa. This variation has attracted some heated criticism, but executive producer Lindsey Weber, the executive producer of the series, explained that “it just seemed natural to us that an adaptation of Tolkien’s work would reflect the real aspect of the world. Tolkien is for everyone. His stories speak of imaginary races that make themselves useful when they leave the isolation of their cultures and unite “.

10. Howard Shore Will Sign The Score

One of the best news for fans of the Peter Jackson trilogy is the choice to entrust Howard Shore with the music of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The composer and conductor have signed the iconic soundtracks of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, and besides the Weta, he will be the only one of the old group to be part of the new series. The news is not yet official – Prime Video is maintaining strict confidentiality on the project, revealing what is strictly necessary – but many authoritative newspapers in the sector assure that the Oscar-winning composer will sign the pieces of this ambitious project.