Amazon was transparent in their hunt for their own series to match the massive success of HBO’s Game Of Thrones. It seems they weren’t simply using Thrones as a comparison point, they were genuinely looking for a huge series very similar, which is why they’ve announced their acquisition of the global television rights for a multi-season commitment adaptation of The Lord Of The Rings.
Still set in middle earth, the TV adaptation will explore new storylines that preceded J.R.R. Tolkien‘s The Fellowship Of The Ring, and the deal also includes the potential for spinoff series.
“The Lord of the Rings is a cultural phenomenon that has captured the imagination of generations of fans through literature and the big screen”, said Sharon Tal Yguado, Head Of Scripted Series, Amazon Studios.
“We are honoured 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”.
Matt Galsor, a representative for the Tolkien estate added: “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. Sharon 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”.
It’s an interesting move. Naturally there are plenty of Lord Of The Rings fans, and Amazon is expecting they will migrate to their service and stick around.
They’ll certainly be hoping so for the amount they’ve paid for the series, a reported figure between $200 million and $250 million just for the global rights. It’s also expected that each season will cost an additional $100 million. For comparison, the six-episode final season of Game Of Thrones cost HBO around $90 million total.
The similarities between the series are obvious, but having seen Peter Jackson‘s wildly successful films, plus the recent Hobbit trilogy which wasn’t quite as successful, the series is going to have some high expectations, and we don’t even know who is yet involved on the creative side of things.
Amazon certainly has the cash to withstand this deal should it fail – it recently lost around $160 million by pulling the plug on the David O. Russell TV series in development; nixed thanks to its ties to Harvey Weinstein – but it’s a lot of pressure to hope a single series can instantly become one of the biggest shows on television.
With a built-in audience, Amazon will be expecting high subscription numbers once the show debuts. Fans will simply be hoping it’s good.
#Peace.Love.LordOfTheRings
