Some members of the family of
author J.R.R. Tolkien, creator of “The Lord of the Rings,” have at times
remarked that the collection of books detailing the quest of a Hobbit and his
companions across Middle-Earth can never be adequately translated into a visual
medium. Peter Jackson’s adaptation of the books into a blockbuster trilogy for
New Line Cinema in the 2000s might beg to differ. Still, with Amazon and its in-development
plans for a “Lord of the Rings” series on Prime Video, that statement might
have hung over the project following a recent character recasting. But the
announcement of a new episode director might just get prep-work going again.
According to Collider, Amazon Studios’ “Lord of the Rings” series just tapped Chinese-British
director Wayne Che Yip to sit at the helm of four episodes for the show. Yip’s
previous notable works include two episodes of “Doctor Who” season 10 as well
as its Christmas Special. On the American side of the Atlantic he was episode
director for DC Universe’s (now HBO Max’s) “Doom Patrol.” He joins J.A. Bayona (“Jurassic
World: Fallen Kingdom”) as directors for the show, which is shooting in New
Zealand where the film trilogy was made.
J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay are
executive producers and show-runners for the Amazon “Rings” series, which is
being built up as a prequel to the events of the movies and their original books.
This will likely take material from Tolkien’s “Silmarillion” which relates the
origin of the Middle-Earth world and its backstory. Initial story blurbs for
the Amazon show tells of the return of Evil after years of peace, which could
mean any period in Middle-Earth’s past where the Dark Lord Sauron rises
following the fall of his predecessor Morgoth.
So far the cast consists of
Robert Aramayo, Morfydd Clark, Nazanin Boniadi and Ismael Cruz Cordova. Australian
actor Tom Budge was also part of the cast, but departed after shooting a few
episodes when the creative team decided to take his unspecified character in a
different direction for his liking. Amazon has yet to put a date on when their “Lord
of the Rings” prequel series will hit Prime Video.
Image: Amazon Studios Instagram
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