After five long years, Amazon Prime Video’s “Lord of the Rings” series finally lands on a title.
Announced in 2017, details about the highly anticipated multi-season show have been kept heavily under wraps. What we do know is that J.R.R. Tolkien’s fictional locations of Númenor, the Misty Mountains, and the elf-capital of Lindon will appear in the series, and the show will take place in Tolkien’s Second Age era, a millennia before the events of “The Hobbit.”
And now, IndieWire can officially announce the title of the series: “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.” Watch a title announcement video below.
Fans may recognize the nod towards the start of the Second Age and forging of the iconic, titular rings. “The Rings of Power” will exclusively premiere on Prime Video Friday, September 2, with new episodes released weekly.
“This is a title that we imagine could live on the spine of a book next to J.R.R. Tolkien’s other classics. ‘The Rings of Power’ unites all the major stories of Middle-earth’s Second Age: the forging of the rings, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, the epic tale of Númenor, and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men,” showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay said. “Until now, audiences have only seen on-screen the story of the One Ring, but before there was one, there were many… and we’re excited to share the epic story of them all.”
Prime Video also physically forged the title in a blacksmith foundry using molten metal and hard-carved wooden ravines to shape each letter. The process was captured in slow motion for a live-action video that also features voiceover narration from Tolkien’s beloved “Ring Verse,” citing the recipients of the 20 Rings of Power.
“Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky / Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,” the narration states. “Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die / One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne / In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.”
Per an official series description, “The Rings of Power” will “take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and one of the greatest villains that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness.”
The statement continues, “Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared reemergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the farthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.”
The series has already made headlines with its rumored whopping $450 million price tag for one season. Stars include Charles Edwards (“The Crown”), Will Fletcher (“The Girl Who Fell”), Amelie Child-Villiers (“The Machine”) and newcomer Beau Cassidy. Prime Video also confirmed Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, and Daniel Weyman are in the ensemble cast.
“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” is executive produced by Payne and McKay, alongside Lindsey Weber, Callum Greene, J.A. Bayona, Belén Atienza, Justin Doble, Jason Cahill, Gennifer Hutchison, Bruce Richmond, and Sharon Tal Yguado, and producers Ron Ames and Christopher Newman. Wayne Che Yip is co-executive producer and directs along with J.A. Bayona and Charlotte Brändström.
