Lord of the Rings moves to the small screen with Amazon Prime Video

Amazon has closed the deal and signed a multi-season contract for a Lord of the Rings TV series for Amazon Prime Video, negotiations of which first leaked last week.

Amazon wanted a big fantasy TV series tentpole like Game of Thrones and now has one that will be produced by Amazon Studios, in co-operation with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins and New Line Cinema, a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment.

“The Lord of the Rings is a cultural phenomenon that has captured the imagination of generations of fans through literature and the big screen,” says Sharon Tal Yguado, head of scripted series at Amazon Studios in a statement.

“We are honoured to be working with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins and New Line on this exciting collaboration for television and are thrilled to be taking The Lord of the Rings fans on a new epic journey in Middle Earth.”

The Lord of the Rings TV series, set in Middle Earth, will explore new storylines set before J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring.

“We are delighted that Amazon, with its longstanding commitment to literature, is the home of the first-ever multi-season television series for The Lord of the Rings,” says Matt Galsor, a representative for the Tolkien Estate and Trust and HarperCollins.

“Sharon and the team at Amazon Studios have exceptional ideas to bring to the screen previously unexplored stories based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s original writings.”