LOTR: The Rings of Power Show Budget: Will Cost More Than $1 Billion
The total cost for the upcoming The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power TV show is predicted to pass a staggering $1 billion, according to reports. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien remains one of the most beloved and influential fantasy novels of all time, a book it was believed was unfilmable. Though Peter Jackson proved that to be false with his Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001-2003), which became a box office behemoth, grossing just shy of $3 billion worldwide. Since the trilogy ended and following the lesser success of The Hobbit trilogy, whispers of a TV adaptation endured for years, before Amazon purchased the television rights to The Lord of the Rings for $250 million in 2017, and a September 2022 release date for The Rings Of Power was confirmed for the show on Amazon Prime Video.
The series will not be a remake or reimagining of the film trilogy, but will instead borrow from different aspects of many of Tolkien's Middle-earth stories, and blend them together to create its own storyline and narrative structure. Indeed, many have questioned the use of the title The Lord of the Rings, as the show is set to take place during the Second Age of Middle-earth, thus separating it from the original series. Exact details of the plot are being kept under wraps, but the premise reveals that The Rings of Power is set 3,000 years before the movies, which take place during the Third Age. The story will chronicle the events of the forging of the Rings of Power, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, and the last alliance between men and elves.
When the cost of the show was revealed it raised a lot of eyebrows, as it looks set to become the most expensive TV show ever made. Whilst Amazon has remained tight-lipped on the exact budget of the show, according to Vanity Fair, estimates put the first season alone at a staggering $462 million. Factoring in global marketing, and the cost of future seasons, the show looks set to comfortably pass the $1 billion mark, and Amazon executive Jennifer Salke defended the show's budget, discussing the vision for the series' future.
Investing a lot of money into a TV show or movie is always a risk, and this is no different, despite the fact that Amazon is backing an already popular and influential franchise. The studio has already cut its teeth with epic fantasy following the commission and production of the Wheel of Time series, which has proven to be a success on Prime Video. The Rings of Power series is set to debut on the streaming platform on September 2 of this year, and many are excited to see how the show interprets Tolkien's work, including Viggo Mortensen who played Aragorn in the film trilogy.
Due to the immense wealth of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power may not be as wild of an investment as it would for other networks. Nevertheless, Tolkien is believed to be a personal obsession of Bezos', so the billionaire will be hoping that the show proves to be a success. It is unclear at this stage how many seasons the show might run for, however, there has been talk that it may run for up to five seasons. It depends on how successful the show is, and how much fans of the movies take to the new story. Certainly, the return of legacy characters such as Galadriel and Elrond (albeit in younger form) will do a lot to help viewers transition and acclimate to this new take on Tolkien's masterpiece.
Source: Vanity Fair