Lord of the Rings TV Series Adds Another Star

Ahead of the official begin of production on the highly anticipated fantasy series, Amazon is betting big on their new Lord of the Rings TV series. The streaming service has now added another major addition to the cast with Deadline reporting that actress Ema Horvath has been added to the ranks. This marks the first major project for the young actress whose others credits include horror films Like.Share.Follow. and The Gallows Act II. Information about her character, including a name, was not revealed just yet.

Production on the Lord of the Rings series will begin soon in New Zealand, with Horvath joining a cast that includes Will Poulter as Beldor and Australian actress Arkella Kavenagh as female lead Tyra. Joseph Rawle of Game of Thrones will play the series' lead villain, Oren. Writers JD Payne and Patrick McKay will showrun the series with Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom filmmaker J.A. Bayona directing the initial episodes.

Details of the series are still in flux and have been heavily guarded, but the assumption is that the stories will be set in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, but before the events of the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Sauron, then, will likely be a lingering presence but not the series' principal antagonist.

Over the summer at the Television Critics Association press tour, Amazon revealed the full creative team behind its upcoming The Lord of the Rings television series. Newly-revealed or confirmed talent include executive producers Lindsey Weber (10 Cloverfield Lane), Bruce Richmond (Game of Thrones), Gene Kelly (Boardwalk Empire), Sharon Tal Yguado; writer and executive producer Gennifer Hutchison (Breaking Bad); writer and executive producer Jason Cahill (The Sopranos); writer and executive producer Justin Doble (Stranger Things); consulting producers Bryan Cogman (Game of Thrones) and Stephany Folsom (Toy Story 4); producer Ron Ames (The Aviator); writer and co-producer Helen Shang (Hannibal); and writing consultant Glenise Mullins.

Amazon also announced costume designer Kate Hawley (Suicide Squad); production designer Rick Heinrichs (Star Wars: The Last Jedi); visual effects supervisor Jason Smith (The Revenant); Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey; and illustrator and concept artist John Howe.

No official premiere date has been set but Amazon is aiming for a 2021 debut. To further highlight the faith that Amazon has in the series and its creative team, they've already renewed the series for a second season before the pilot has even been shot. The series will go into production in 2020 with the first two episodes scheduled to be filmed ahead of a 4 to 5 month hiatus, during this break the writers for the series will make tweaks to the first episodes while also plan out the story for the second season.