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Amazon Is Making a 'Lord of the Rings' Prequel Series (techcrunch.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the greatest-fantasy-of-all-time dept.

Amazon is making a Lord of the Rings prequel TV series for its Amazon Instant streaming service. The show, which already carries a multi-season commitment, will "explore new storylines preceding J.R.R. Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring." TechCrunch reports: It's possible the new series will mine the ponderous but rich Silmarillion for material, as fan fiction writers and lore aficionados have done for decades. The exploits of the Elf-Lords of old would make for a stirring epic, while many would thrill at the possibility of seeing Moria at the height of its grandeur. So much depends on the quality of the adaptation, though. Amazon has been pretty good about its Originals, but this will be an undertaking far beyond the scope of anything its studios and partners have yet attempted. Amazon is partnering with New Line Cinema, which of course was the film company behind the much-loved trilogy that began in 2001, and the Tolkien Estate, as well as HarperCollins for some reason. The deal also "includes a potential additional spin-off series," presumably if it's popular enough.

4 of 109 comments (clear)

  1. Peter Jackson by neoRUR · · Score: 1, Insightful

    And I hope Peter will be involved somehow..

    1. Re:Peter Jackson by wisnoskij · · Score: 4, Insightful

      After the travesty of the Hobbit. I would not wish for this.

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      Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
  2. Re:Just more Piling On by mfh · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Hobbit was a tale of small town heroes adventuring away, whereas LotR was an epic tale of the plight of humanity against malicious and demonic adversaries. Huge scale difference.

    With this prequel, they could potentially create something on par with LotR in terms of scale. However, few of the original LotR actors would be involved in the prequel... so the success or failure is going to depend upon the direction, the story and the casting. The LotR franchise (including The Hobbit) are on thin ice though. If there is a whiff of any garbage getting into this new series, it will lose its audience faster than Sauron losing everything with the loss of his ring finger.

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    The dangers of knowledge trigger emotional distress in human beings.
  3. Isnt it... by meglon · · Score: 4, Insightful

    And i always thought the name of the prequel to the Lord of the Rings was: The Hobbit.

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    Fascism: An authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization. See also: NAZI's