‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’: Middle-earth, magic, and madness returns

The showrunner and cast of the upcoming Amazon Prime epic-fantasy series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power talk about J.R.R. Tolkein’s legacy, introducing a new visual language to the audiences, and more

Perhaps it should be a surprise why it took this long for legendary author J.R.R. Tolkein’s works to be adapted to the longer streaming format, after the phenomenal success of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings (2001–03) and Hobbit (2012-14) trilogies. The six multi-Oscar-winning movies made Jackson the third-highest-grossing filmmaker of all time, and it was but natural that a television series – exploring mysteries and adventures around the fabled fantasies of Middle-earth – should come, catering to all generations of fans, globally. 

Now, it has taken two very brave men in J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, to live up to Jackson’s legacy, with their new series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

Set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, the epic drama is set several years before the events of The Hobbit and LOTR, and charts the origins of one of the greatest villains in fictional history : Sauron. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains to the spectacular island kingdom of Númenor, dwarves, elves, humans and magical creatures of all kinds come to the fore against all odds to guard against the feared re-emergence of evil, as kingdoms fall and unlikely heroes rise.

With a star-studded ensemble — actors such as Robert Aramayo, Morfydd Clark, Nazanin Boniadi and Charles Edwards, to mention a few — the series has already been hailed as one of the most-expensive productions in history, and is set to launch with staggering expectations next month.

The team of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power were recently in Mumbai to promote their upcoming project, and found time to chat with us in person. 

Excerpts from the exclusive interviews:

As the showrunner of perhaps the most ambitious TV series of all time, J.D. Payne, along with co-creator Patrick McKay, is under the spotlight. However, the self-professed Tolkien nerd cannot wait for the audience to experience how he has taken the iconic writer’s legacy forward. Unlike Peter Jackson’s Academy Award-winning film adaptations from the novels, this series has been created from the Lord Of The Rings appendices, indicating that there was a lot of space for creative liberty. For a franchise with such global fandom , is this a boon or bane?