Facts and figures about the series “Lord of the Rings”

It’s the most expensive series in history – expectations are high in return. “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” must strike the right balance between fan service and audience appeal.

“Lord of the Rings” fans have been at this event for a long time. Some of them are taller than Elvis fans, because British writer and philologist J.R.R. Tolkien published some of his work, on which the popular films and now series are based, in the 1930s. The Hobbit originally saw the light of day in 1937. Tolkien’s multi-volume masterpiece The Lord of the Rings followed in 1954 and 1955. For comparison: Elvis’ first public appearance took place in the summer of 1954. Both combined phenomena are about the same age as the myths, with volumes appearing The three “Lord of the Rings” plus appendices were only in German during the golden hippie era in 1969/70.

However: with 150 million copies sold, the work is one of the most successful novels of all time. It also forms the clearly identifiable basis for all the fictional novels that emerged after that. Peter Jackson’s legendary film trilogy “The Lord of the Rings” (2001-2003) and “The Hobbit” (2012-2014) also set standards in many respects: budget, shooting length, and effort. Above all, of course, the first films gave the cinema genre a few records.

Now that television series have surpassed the medium of cinema in terms of popular culture importance as well as commerce, what follows is the greatest fantasy novel and fictional “world-building” of all time is perhaps the greatest, but it is at least the most expensive series in the world. Globalism. Starting Friday, September 2, the first two episodes of “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” will be available on Amazon streaming. The remaining six episodes appear weekly. The final epilogue to the mega-series will take place on October 14 – for now. As is already known, Prime Video has already commissioned the second season of the Tolkien saga.

What is the cost of the series “Lord of the Rings”?

Low numbers to rank: According to an article in US trade magazine Deadline, the first season alone should have cost $465 million. The cost of the licensing rights is said to be up to $250 million. For comparison: the most expensive sixth season of the series “Game of Thrones” cost “only” 100 million US dollars. In general, the accessible budget for the “Rings of Strength” is estimated at more than one billion US dollars.

The trailers for the series, which are gradually posted online with massive “sympathy”, in turn show stunning tracking footage through imaginary worlds, which are of course based on the visuals and aesthetics created by Peter Jackson and his team 20 years ago. The 60-year-old New Zealander was quoted as saying that Jackson himself is “only on friendly terms” with the series, but has no actual production connection. Models are Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne (“Stark Trek Beyond”). The screenplay is written by a team of writers including Brian Cogman (“Game of Thrones”), Jennifer Hutchison (“Breaking Bad”) and Justin Doble (“Stranger Things”).

What is the topic of power rings?

But what is said in the series? In order to gain as much imaginative freedom as possible – in addition to the “introductory work” of Peter Jackson, “Rings of Power” uses an old trick that was already used in “Star Wars” and also in “Game of Thrones” a prequel “House of the Dragon” was applied : One focuses on prehistory – and there is the best on a chapter that has so far remained in the dark. In the universe of The Lord of the Rings, this is the so-called “Second Age” of Middle-earth, including flashbacks about the first. Previously known stories played out in the “Third Age”. The “Second Age” begins with the defeat of the Dark Lord Morgoth, spans over 3,000 years and finally ends with the last alliance’s battle against Morgoth’s one-time Sauron.

This is where the big battle between fans of the “pure” creed of The Lord of the Rings and much-needed mainstream audiences comes into play. The mere fact that the series’ 3,000-year plot has been squeezed into a tight time corset that allows the main characters to live is a thorn in the side of these critics. “If you follow the exact wording, you’re telling a story where the human characters die every season because you’re 200 years old leaping forward in time,” said John De Payne, the show’s co-host in an interview with Vanity Fair. Likewise, you’re not going to meet any of the big and important characters in Sharia until the fourth season.” “There might be some fans out there who want us to make a Middle-earth documentary, but we’re going to tell a story that ties all of those things together,” Pine continued. The decision to step up events in this way was made in close consultation with Tolkien Estate, which owns the rights to the JRR Tolkien business.

22 main characters and questionable criticism of the cast

Unfortunately, the decision that approximately 22 main characters (!) of the series, and of course, also the supporting characters were “color-blind” and assorted, also drew criticism. In this series there are black elves, dwarves (also females without a beard!) and hobbits, which are still called hairy feet here. That didn’t sit well with some who considered Lord of the Rings a “white legacy.” A very unnecessary discussion that you already know from the past. In this case, it’s actually wrong, because JRR Tolkien actually reported on dark-skinned hobbits. The fact that the series must have at least five seasons — plus potential spin-offs — is something now well known from the franchise culture of well-known narrative brands. The effort in this series, filmed again in New Zealand, is simply too great to simply ship the wallpapers – even if only digital – to the scrap heap.

And yes, there is also a basic plot: “Rings of Power” tells about a world in which the peoples of Middle-earth live in an age of peace. But Elven King Gil-galad through the dwarves of Moria to Hairy Feet experience the rise of evil in their worlds, which the characters must now contend with. One of the main ones is Elf Galadriel – played by Cate Blanchett in the movies – now cast in a smaller version of Morfydd Clark.

Critics of the stunning trailers have complained about the “flat messages” and dialogues/monologues, but this typical trailer issue is well known and doesn’t necessarily have much to say. The question of whether “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” offers not only a visual but also a narrative scene can only be answered when the series is released due to the fact that press releases are only possible shortly before September 2nd.