Amazon has released the first image from its Lord of the Rings series, and confirmed a release date. The TV series is due to arrive on the streaming service in September 2022, and episodes will be weekly.
The gorgeous still, viewable above, shows a character in an open field, with a large stone city in the background, and leading to a body of water, and a sunset. This picture is from the premiere episode, but no further context is given for what’s happening. If nothing else, it shows the production values here are going to be as high as a expected.
“I can’t express enough just how excited we all are to take our global audience on a new and epic journey through Middle-earth,” Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, said in a statement. “Our talented producers, cast, creative, and production teams have worked tirelessly in New Zealand to bring this untold and awe-inspiring vision to life.” Salke confirmed that the show will premiere September 2, 2022.
“As Bilbo says, ‘Now I think I am quite ready to go on another journey.’ Living and breathing Middle-earth these many months has been the adventure of a lifetime. We cannot wait for fans to have the chance to do so as well,” showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay said in a joint comment.
Amazon’s Lord of the Rings has a large ensemble cast, though very little is known about who anyone is playing. Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Maxim Baldry, Nazanin Boniadi, Charles Edwards, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Lloyd Owen, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, Daniel Weyman, and Sara Zwangobani are among the confirmed perfomers.
On September 2, 2022, a new journey begins. pic.twitter.com/9tnR7WqDoA
— The Lord of the Rings on Prime (@LOTRonPrime) August 2, 2021
An accompanying lead-in reads: “The new epic drama brings to screens for the very first time J.R.R. Tolkien’s fabled Second Age of Middle-earth’s history. Beginning in a time of relative peace, thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books, 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.”
J.A. Bayona, known for Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and The Orphanage, directed the first two episodes. Wayne Che Tip directed four, and Charlotte Brändström another two. For more fantastic goings on, here’s the best fantasy movies.