We’re less than a month away from the debut of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the Prime Video series that will be a bold expansion of J.R.R. Tolkien’s iconic fantasy novels. The series will be set thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, covering a territory that’s only occasionally hinted at in the books — meaning that fans have definitely been curious to see what tone it ultimately takes. In a recent interview with SFX Magazine (via CBR), Rings of Power executive-producer J.A. Bayona revealed that embodying Tolkien’s “optimism and love” were the biggest priorities when bringing the narrative to life.
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“When you read Tolkien’s books, you can tell how much he appreciates beauty, so the show is full of beauty,” said Bayona. “Tolkien is inherently optimistic, warm and emotional. This is a man who went through some of the darkest things in human history [in the First World War] and he didn’t come out of that and write a despairing, awful story.”
“[Tolkien] wrote a story about hope, and a little guy succeeding,” Bayona explained. “We always felt that it was rule number one that there needed to be true optimism and love, even in the darkest, scariest moments of the show.”
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is set thousands of years before The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, during Middle-earth’s Second Age. It begins during a time of relative peace following the defeat of Morgoth, Sauron’s master. The series chronicles the lives and adventures of its ensemble cast and promises to visit the Misty Mountains, the forest elf-capital of Lindon, and the shores of the island kingdom of Númenor.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power features an ensemble cast that includes Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Maxim Baldry, Nazanin Boniadi, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Charles Edwards, Trystan Gravelle, Sir Lenny Henry, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Lloyd Owen, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, Leon Wadham, Benjamin Walker, Daniel Weyman, and Sara Zwangobani.
J.D. Payne & Patrick McKay lead the series as executive producers with Lindsey Weber, Callum Greene, J.A. Bayona, Belén Atienza, Justin Doble, Jason Cahill, Gennifer Hutchison, Bruce Richmond, and Sharon Tal Yguado. Ron Ames and Christopher Newman are producers. Wayne Che Yip is a co-executive producer and directs along with J.A. Bayona and Charlotte Brändström.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power debuts on Prime Video on September 2nd. Prime Video has already renewed the show for its second season.
