The Lord of the Rings could soon be coming to a TV near you. Amazon, the biggest e-commerce giant on the market has announced that it has acquired the rights to adapt “The Lord of the Rings” under its subsidiary Amazon Studios. The company will adapt the J.R.R Tolkien’s fantasy series into a TV show that is expected to run for a number of seasons.
The original series will be produced by Amazon Studios. Lord of the Rings books and movies are very popular. It will be interesting to see though how Amazon will adapt the novels into TV series. The company says that they will explore new storylines, preceding the novels.
It should be noted that this is not the first time that a Tolkien novel is being adapted for the screen. The Fellowship of the Ring movie won an Oscar in 2001. The details of the show are scarce though. However, some fans have already started the speculations. Some are saying that Amazon could actually start by adopting “The Silmarillion.” This is actually a prequel published by Tolkien before the Lord of the Rings books came out.
Amazon Studios, which was established in 2010, has made a major shift in strategy recently. Last month, the company announced that it would begin to pursue “big shows” as part of its original productions. At the time, it was not clear what kind of big shows the studio was talking about. However, the Lord of the Rings series certainly qualifies for that level.
Amazon has reportedly paid $250 million for Lord of the Rings global rights. This figure does not include any future production and development costs. Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos looks extremely excited about the move. In a tweet sent on Monday, Bezos said that Amazon Prime was literally heading to Middle Earth all thanks to the new show.
Taking on a big novel like Lord of the Rings and adapting it for TV is surely a big step for Amazon Studios. The show will likely have an impact on improving Amazon Studio’s profile. According to Sharon Tal Yguado, the head of scripted series at Amazon Studios, the company is honored to be working with the Tolkien Estate and Trust. Sharon also added that the Lord of the Rings is a cultural phenomenon that has continued to capture the imagination of many generations over the years.
Amazon Studios is inviting fans to join their team on this epic journey. Producing high profile original shows is never easy but many analysts feel that Amazon Studios has the capacity to pull it off. No doubt that this won’t be the last “big show” from Amazon either. Nonetheless, we will have to wait and see how the series is received.
