Fire up the oven, start baking yourself some Lembas bread, and hold onto your preciouses because Amazon Studios has revealed an official synopsis for its Lord of the Rings television series. Rumors have been circulating all throughout Middle-earth regarding what the series could be about. Now, after three long years, we finally have an answer.
The following synopsis was obtained and vetted by TheOneRing.net:
Amazon Studios’ forthcoming series brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth’s history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness. Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.
In addition to the show's synopsis reveal, Amazon shared a teaser map announcing the Second Age of Middle-earth, taking place thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit and Lord of the RIngs. Numenor, a location that had not been mentioned in any of the film adaptations, is likely to be a central location wherein the series takes place.
Not that long ago, although some days it certainly feels like it, an army of actors was announced to be joining the cast of Amazon's LOTR series including Cynthia Assai-Robinson, Maxim Baldry, Ian Blackburn, Kip Chapman, Anthony Crum, Maxine Cunliffe, Trystan Gravelle, Lenny Henry, Thusitha Jayasundera, Fabian McCallum, Simon Merrells, Geoff Morrell, Peter Mullan, Lloyd Owen, August Prew, Peter Tait, Alex Tarrant, Leon Wadham, Benjamin Walker, and Sara Zwangobani, among several others.
Amazon's plan is for its Lord of the Rings series to run for at least 5 seasons, with 8 to 10 episodes per season. Cameras are officially rolling in New Zealand for seasons 1 and 2, with J.A. Bayona, set to direct the 2-part pilot.
"The greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen," you say? It sounds to me like we're about to get up close and personal with the evil armored blacksmith himself, Sauron, when the new series officially arrives. It should be interesting to spend some time with the iconic villain during the Second Age, seeing as that's when he forged the One Ring, which in turn led to the fall of the Nine Kings. Good times.
What do you think of this synopsis reveal? Is it making you more pumped for when Amazon's Lord of the Rings series inevitably rules the streaming landscape? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.