Amazon's billion dollar Lord of the Rings series will focus on 'major movie character'

The planned Lord of the Rings TV series from Amazon Studios will reportedly centre around a character fans will doubtless approve of.

According to online Tolkien authority The One Ring, the action will pivot on the young Aragorn, the leader of the Rangers of the North, and the future King of Gondor.

Aragorn, who’s initially introduced to the Hobbits of the Lord of the Rings as the shadowy Strider, was played by Viggo Mortensen in Peter Jackson’s movies.

It’s thought that his story will be what makes up the first season of the show, and there’s plenty of room for a dramatic story arc, with Aragorn unaware of his regal lineage as a young man, and leading the intrepid Dúnedain, the noble rangers who protected the north from the ringwraiths, and their leader the Witch-king of Angmar.

The studio is throwing a staggering amount of resources behind the series, which will be aiming to pick up the audience left bereft when Game of Thrones winds up next year.

It’s said that Amazon has already signed up five seasons, and if the budgets reports are to be believed, they will dwarf Game of Thrones‘ $10 million per episode.

Meanwhile, fans are waiting with baited breath to find out whether Peter Jackson will be signing up in some capacity.

Amazon is reputedly keen to get the director of the Lord of the Rings movies and The Hobbit trilogy on board, what with him being the leading directorial figure by a mile when it comes to all things Tolkien.

Further reports suggest that Jackson is currently weighing up whether to commit to the Amazon series, or to make a movie for the DC Extended Universe.

As yet, there’s no word of which actors may be involved in the series, but with budgets this high, Amazon shouldn’t have problems enticing the odd A-lister.

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