The Lord of the Rings is in a new era. J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic Middle-earth saga is now telling stories on the streaming screen, as Prime Video birthed the historic The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series last fall. The Rings of Power stands alone as the most expensive television show ever made largely due to the scope and scale of the heavily-practical world. The look of the show was far from the only aspect that The Rings of Power sought to raise the bar on, as the cast and crew also felt the responsibility of living of to the gold standard that The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films set before it.
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Speaking to ComicBook.com, The Rings of Power Season 1 director JA Bayona emphasized the weight of his task at hand, specifically citing the source material as what he strove to do justice by.
“It was massive [responsibility],” Bayona said. “I have so much respect for the books. I read them when I was a kid and read them back to prepare the show. You felt the responsibility of taking such a beautiful story back to the screen.”
Bayona added that revisiting Tolkien’s texts made his job a bit easier because of how thorough they are.
“It was great actually because when I read them again, I noticed how extraordinary the writing of talking is,” Bayona continued. “And actually it was very helpful to me because it was so detailed, so rich that every time I was able to go back and get ideas from there.”
Bayona helmed the first two episodes of The Rings of Power Season 1 before passing the reins to Wayne Che Yip and Charlotte Brändström for the next six installments.
“Unfortunately I didn’t have the time to be involved in second season,” Bayona said. “I’ve been working on a movie that I’m still working on. That has been very demanding. I’ve been in contact with the guys and with the actors trying to find out what’s going on, what’s going to happen. It’s very exciting. I’m very excited to watch season two.”
That scheduling conflict is the only thing keeping Bayona from returning to Middle-earth, as the Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom director noted that he would love to return to The Rings of Power in future seasons.
Yes, for sure,” Bayona said. “I have great friends in there that I would love to be involved with them again.”
The Rings of Power has long been said to be a five-season show, with co-showrunner J.D. Payne even revealing that the final shot of the series has already been mapped out.
“I’m very excited with that story,” Bayona said when asked about watching Season 2 as a fan. “I know the ending. I know where everything is heading to, and I’m super excited to see the whole thing, not only one story, in the whole story.”
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 1 is currently streaming on Prime Video.
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Image Credit: Marvel Comics
