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Details emerge on Amazon's billion dollar Lord of the Rings series

Lord of the Rings (Credit: New Line)
Lord of the Rings (Credit: New Line)

Details are beginning to emerge about Amazon Studios’ Lord of the Rings TV series, and it sounds like the scale of the project is mind-boggling.

A report in The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that the project is signed up for a minimum of five series, and will cost ‘north of $1 billion’.

The rights for the intellectual property were signed from the Tolkien estate and Harper Collins last November, and have cost the studio $250 million alone, with Amazon beating Netflix to the prize.

It’s also reported that ‘a dialogue’ between director Peter Jackson is underway, though it’s not known whether he will be directly involved in the project.

Peter Jackson (Credit: New Line)
Peter Jackson (Credit: New Line)

Jackson made three movies based on Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Ring, plus three more out of The Hobbit, which in all grossed nearly $6 billion worldwide.

It’s said that the show ‘may use material’ from the films, which is likely where Jackson comes into the equation.

The series Amazon is making will be a prequel, telling the stories of Middle Earth prior to the events of the movies.

Also part of the deal is the potential for other spin-off series, a move which HBO has also made in the wake of Game of Thrones approaching its climax.

It’s not yet known when production might start, who could be starring or when we might see the finished product, but it’s shaping up to be one of the most expensive projects ever seen on screen.

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