Fans Are Heading Back to Middle-Earth! Amazon Announces 'Lord of the Rings' Series Release Date

Another battle for Middle-earth is upon us…

Amazon Studios is currently in post-production on a Lord of the Rings television series. Though the show will be based on writer J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, the series will explore new storylines preceding The Fellowship of the Ring, as Tolkien’s novels are set in four different ages. The Lord of the Rings trilogy was set in The Third Age, and it has been confirmed that the TV show will take place in The Second Age.

It’s also important to note that The Second Age is when the iconic One Ring was forged by Sauron at Mount Doom. So, fans shouldn’t be surprised if the Dark Lord makes an appearance in the new TV series. Unfortunately, it will be some time before we can watch the first episode of the highly anticipated show. Here’s what we know about Amazon’s Lord of the Rings, including the release date, cast, and the already-greenlit Season 2.

Amazon announced that Lord of the Rings was shooting Season 1 in New Zealand. "As we searched for the location in which we could bring to life the primordial beauty of the Second Age of Middle-earth, we knew we needed to find somewhere majestic, with pristine coasts, forests, and mountains, that also is a home to world-class sets, studios, and highly skilled and experienced craftspeople and other staff, and we're happy that we are now able to officially confirm New Zealand as our home for our series based on stories from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings." showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay said in a statement (via Deadline).

The streaming service has announced that the first episode of the highly-anticipated series will air on Sept. 2, 2022, with new episodes dropping each week.

"The Lord of the Rings brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth’s history," the show's description reads (via THR).

"This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and 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 description continues, "Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth."

Though details surrounding the series have been scarce, the confirmed cast includes (via Variety): Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Maxim Baldry, Nazanin Boniadi, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Charles Edwards, Trystan Gravelle, Sir Lenny Henry, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Lloyd Owen, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, Leon Wadham, Benjamin Walker, Daniel Weyman, and Sara Zwangobani.

Amazon Studios exec Jennifer Salke confirmed to Deadline that Season 2 has been greenlit by the streaming service. The reported months-long hiatus after filming the pilot and second episode of Season 1 was to give the writers a chance to map out storylines for Season 2. Also, it has been reported that filming Season 2 scenes during Season 1 is a possibility.

Though September 2022 is a bit away, to pass the time, we urge fans to re-watch the trilogy, and/or The Hobbit prequel films.