We’ve been bursting with anticipation (gross) for years now about Amazon’s lofty adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings universe. We’ve heard lots of things about the budget; about the time period of Middle-earth history in which it will take place; the cast and crew members; but one question has remained high on our list of unknowns: When will we actually get to watch the thing? Well Amazon has finally given us a date. Mark your calendars, folks! The new Lord of the Rings will premiere Friday, September 2, 2022, on Prime Video.
Yes, that’s over a year away. That’s the bad news. But filming of the first season concluded in New Zealand just today (as in Monday, August 2). Give them some time to edit and stuff. Sheesh! The good news is they’ve also included a first-look image.
Amazon
The series will bring Tolkien’s Second Age of Middle-earth to screens for the very first time. The previous films in Peter Jackson’s series were all set in the Third Age. “Beginning in a time of relative peace,” Amazon’s synopsis begins, “thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth.”
There’s going to be a hot Sauron, just be prepared for that.
Headlining this ensemble cast are Cynthia Addai-Robinson; Robert Aramayo; Owain Arthur; Maxim Baldry; Nazanin Boniadi; Morfydd Clark (Saint Maud); Ismael Cruz Córdova; Charles Edwards; Trystan Gravelle; Sir Lenny Henry; Ema Horvath; Markella Kavenagh; Joseph Mawle (he played Benjen Stark on Game of Thrones); Tyroe Muhafidin; Sophia Nomvete; Lloyd Owen; Megan Richards; Dylan Smith; Charlie Vickers; Leon Wadham; Benjamin Walker; Daniel Weyman; and Sara Zwangobani.
Start the clocks, friends; in just over a year, we’re heading back to Middle-earth! The Lord of the Rings series premieres Friday, September 2, 2022, on Prime Video.
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Twitter!
