Everything We Know About the ‘Lord of the Rings’ Series, ‘The Rings of Power’

The Tolkien-verse is expanding! 

The Rings of Power is an epic drama series is coming to Amazon Prime Video, set as a prequel to J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. 

The show is Amazon Studio’s first go at a Game of Thrones-style big budget fantasy series. Over a sprawling five seasons, The Rings of Power is expected to be the most expensive show in TV history, per Vanity Fair, and Amazon is expected to spend at least $1 billion on its production. 

Here’s everything we know about it so far. 

What is The Rings of Power about?

Set thousands of years before the events The Hobbit, the series title announcement promises to follow the forging of the 20 rings of power (three for the elven kings, seven for the dwarf lords, nine for mortal men, and one for the Dark Lord). As any power tends to do, it corrupted the minds of those who held it, and following a time of peace, evil comes back to Middle-earth. The series also will likely visit iconic LOTR locations like the Misty Mountains and the elf capital of Lindon.

“The forging of the rings,” says showrunner Patrick McKay. “Rings for the elves, rings for dwarves, rings for men, and then the one ring Sauron used to deceive them all. It’s the story of the creation of all those powers, where they came from, and what they did to each of those races.” 

Is it based on a book?

While The Rings of Power isn’t based on any book per se, per Vanity Fair, it will take its inspiration from the vast backstory that J.R.R. Tolkien laid out in the appendices to the LOTR trilogy.

Who’s in the cast? 

The show’s ensemble cast features both familiar characters and new ones, and it will reportedly juggle the storylines of 22 stars. Because of the time setting, cameos from mortal characters like Viggo Mortensen’s Aragorn are unlikely, but the immortal elves like Elrond are fair game. For The Rings of Power, Hugo Weaving has passed the torch of the Lord of Rivendell to Robert Aramayo. 

One of the protagonists of the series is Galadriel, the ethereal elven queen made famous by Cate Blanchett‘s portrayal in the Peter Jackson film trilogy. The series will follow a younger version of her, played by Morfydd Clark. 

New stars will fill out the cast of 22 stars, including Owain Arthur as subterranean Prince Durin IV, Sophia Nomvete as dwarven princess Disa, and Ismael Cruz Córdova as silvan elf Arondir.

When does it premiere?

The nine-episode first season is set to premiere on Friday, September 2. Watch the fiery title announcement below: 

We also have a first look at the series, courtesy of Vanity Fair: