‘Lord Of The Rings’ Series Moving Forward At Amazon For Multi-Season Deal

Producers of  Lord of the Rings are in talks to turn the franchise into a television show at Amazon, the streaming service announced Monday.

AMAZON TO PRODUCE MULTI-SEASON LORD OF THE RINGS SERIES

Warner Bros. Television and the estate of J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, are in talks to develop the novels. The project began moving forward with its production on Monday.

The TV adaptation of the popular series will follow new storylines to take place prior to The Fellowship of the Ring, the first book in the original trilogy. The books have already been made into films by director Peter Jackson, earning a combined gross of nearly $6 billion worldwide. The star-studded cast and crew helped the films to a whopping 17 Oscar wins, including Best Picture.

“We are delighted that Amazon, with its longstanding commitment to literature, is the home of the first-ever multi-season television series for The Lord of the Rings,” said Matt Galsor, a representative for the Tolkien Estate and Trust and HarperCollins. “Sharon [Tal Yguado] and the team at Amazon Studios have exceptional ideas to bring to the screen previously unexplored stories based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s original writings.”

“The Lord of the Rings is a cultural phenomenon that has captured the imagination of generations of fans through literature and the big screen,” added Tal Yguado, head of scripted series for Amazon Studios. “We are honored to be working with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins and New Line on this exciting collaboration for television and are thrilled to be taking The Lord of the Rings fans on a new epic journey in Middle Earth.”

This announcement comes as Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is making plans to change the types of shows that come out of the streaming service. He is dictating a new programming mandate and is looking for a larger-scale genre, and shows akin to Game of Thrones to stay in the competitive world of TV streaming.