Amazon announces their highly anticipated The Hobbit during Middle-earth's Second Age. It has already been renewed for a second season.
Amazon first bought the rights to The Lord of the Rings in 2017, with development starting a year later. As one of the most expensive shows in television history, there is a great deal of anticipation surrounding the series, which stars the likes of Robert Aramayo and Morfydd Clark as Lord of the Rings character Galadriel. The series will follow a new cast of characters as they confront the long-feared reemergence of evil in Middle-earth. For some time now, many expected Amazon to debut the show later this year. However, it's now clear fans will have to wait much longer to see this new Lord of the Rings story.
On Monday, Amazon issued the announcement that The Lord of The Rings will premiere on Friday, September 2, 2022. New episodes will arrive weekly after that, and the series will be available in more than 240 territories and countries around the world. Amazon also confirmed that production on season 1 has officially wrapped as of Monday. Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, said in a statement:
“The journey begins September 2, 2022 with the premiere of our original The Lord of the Rings series on Prime Video. I can’t express enough just how excited we all are to take our global audience on a new and epic journey through Middle-earth! Our talented producers, cast, creative, and production teams have worked tirelessly in New Zealand to bring this untold and awe-inspiring vision to life.”
Additionally, Lord of the Rings showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay said:
“As Bilbo says, ‘Now I think I am quite ready to go on another journey.’ Living and breathing Middle-earth these many months has been the adventure of a lifetime. We cannot wait for fans to have the chance to do so as well.”
The 2022 premiere date for The Lord of the Rings is much later than initially expected. While it seemed uncertain that it would arrive in 2021 because of the show's massive scope and delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic, that the series won't debut until the last third of the year is a bit surprising. If anything, this speaks to just how large The Lord of the Rings truly is. Production only just reached its end, and it has the entirety of post-production to get through. In sharing the premiere date, Amazon also released the first official photo from The Lord of the Rings, which hints at its sheer size.
With The Lord of the Rings not expected to arrive until next year, Amazon can take its time promoting the series. Just by being a project set in Middle-earth, there's a lot of excitement among fans of Tolkien's novels. Now Amazon can also spend time appealing to casual fans who are perhaps more inclined to watch the movies than read the books. With a year still to go before The Lord of the Rings arrives, expect more peeks at the series to gradually emerge in the coming months.
Source: Amazon