For days, several rumors have circulated around the internet, and last Monday, it was officially revealed: Amazon has acquired all global TV rights for "The Lord of the Rings" franchise, which will entail a multi-season TV series, as well as a spinoff series.
According to Deadline, Amazon paid over $250 million for the deal to close and that was just for acquiring the rights alone. The streaming company plans to produce a LOTR TV series of the same caliber as "The Game of Thrones," which will roughly cost around $100 million per season.
Still, Amazon Studios is quite enthusiastic about the said project. "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 at Amazon Studios.
"We are honored 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," she added.
Apparently, the "Lord of the Rings" original series will be solely produced by Amazon Studios, in cooperation with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins, and New Line Cinema, a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment. The whole series will take on a new storyline, sort of like a prequel to Tolkien's first book, "The Fellowship of the Ring."
According to Collider, the whole series will be available to Amazon Prime Original. Prime members can enjoy an exclusive access using Prime Video app for TVs, other connected devices such as Amazon Fire TV, and other Amazon Prime Originals, without any additional membership cost.
The "Lord of the Rings" trilogy became a global phenomenon since it aired its first film "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring." Other than the aforementioned details, no other information was disclosed about the deal, when it will start production, and its potential premiere date.
