A “Lord of the Rings” television series is coming to Amazon Prime, and it bears a very hefty price tag. Amazon Studios and other producers expect to spend around $465 million to produce the first season, according to Radio New Zealand.
The television series, which is based on the famed novel, would be the most expensive series in history. In comparison, Disney Plus’ “The Mandalorian,” costs roughly $15 million per episode.
In 2017, Amazon bought the rights to author J.R.R. Tolkien’s work for $250 million. It could become the first TV series to cost $1 billion following several seasons, payment for rights and production.
The drama is set to take place thousands of years before the events that occurred in “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings.”
The description states the show “will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness.”
The “Lord of the Rings” series is currently in production and expected to premiere in late 2021. J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay are the showrunners. The ensemble cast will feature Robert Aramayo, Nazanin Boniadi, Joseph Mawle, Owain Arthur, Ismael Cruz Cordova, and more.
Amazon is reportedly expecting to shoot five seasons of the show in New Zealand and could also create spinoff series.
The “Lord of the Rings” series will likely have a positive impact on the New Zealand economy. Stuart Nash, the New Zealand minister for economic development and tourism, voiced his optimism about the series.
“What I can tell you is Amazon is going to spend about $650 million in season one alone,” Nash said in a statement. “This is fantastic, it really is … this will be the largest television series ever made.”
Pictured are actors performing a stage rendition on "Lord of the Rings" in London on June 18, 2007. Photo: Getty Images
