Amazon’s ‘Lord Of The Rings’ Will Be ‘One Big Series’, Peter Jackson’s Involvement Likely
Amazon Studios headJennifer Salkehas attempted to clear up some rumors about that super-expensiveLord of the RingsTV series, including whether or notPeter Jacksonis going to be involved. Salke also says the show will be “one big series” with “characters you love.”
Amazon dropped a huge chunk of change to snap up the right to theLord of the Ringsfor a new TV series, but we’re still not entirely surewhatthe show is going to be about. Reports indicate it will be some sort of prequel story. There’s also a rumor that the first season will focus on ayoung Aragorn, with future seasons possibly focusing on different characters.
And what about Peter Jackson? Is he involved? One report had Jackson claiming he had no involvement with the show. Then, almost immediately after that report broke,anotherreport surfaced with Jacksonsayinghewasinvolved in some capacity. So what’s going on here?
We’ll Know More in a Month
In a new interview withDeadline, Jennifer Salke, the new head of Amazon Studios, attempted to set the record straight. For one thing, Salke reveals that despite months of rumblings, theLord of the Ringsdeal was only finalized very recently, which might explain why there have been so many inconsistent rumors. According to Salke, we’ll know more about the show in a month, including a potential list of writers:
Despite all the noise aroundLord of the Rings, the deal only closed like a month ago. But in the meantime, I’ve sat with Simon Tolkien for a couple of hours, and (Amazon TV executive) Sharon (Tal Yguado) has spent tons of time with them. She had spent the last couple of months meeting anyone who had said, I’m really passionate about it and I want to get in and talk about the show and what’s possible. I think you’ll see us honing in on a strategy in the next month, which might involve a group of writers.
Peter Jackson
Salke goes on to confirm that Peter Jackson issort ofinvolved in the show. While Jackson’s involvement still seems to be up in the air, Salke says that Amazon has had several conversations with theLord of the RingsandHobbittrilogy director:
The Peter Jackson conversations, right now we’re right in the middle of them. It’s like, how much do you want to be involved, how little? I know there’s been some discussion, and he’s even said some things, but as far as I’m aware, the latest is that we’re just in a conversation with him about how much or how little he would be involved.
One Big Series
So what the heck is Amazon’sLord of the Ringsshow about? Salke doesn’t dish on specifics, but she does say the show will be “one big series,” and feature beloved characters (as opposed to brand new ones):
I think you may know that we’re not remaking the movies, but we’re also not starting from scratch. So, it’ll be characters you love.
When pressed for info onwhichcharacters those might be, Salke feigns ignorance, saying: “I can’t give that out, I don’t have anything for it.” Salke’s “one big series” claim can be interpreted to mean that the show is going to have a continuing storyline from season to season, likeGame of Thrones. Or it can just simply mean that this show is going to bebig, making great use of therumoredbilliondollar budget.
Salke also says that the show will follow the lead of Peter Jackson’s original trilogy and use New Zealand as a stand-in for Middle-earth:
I think we might be in New Zealand. I don’t know, but we’re going to have to go somewhere interesting that could provide those locations in a really authentic way, because we want it to look incredible. There’s no shortage of ambition for the project. We’ll go where we need to go to make it happen.
