'Lord Of The Rings' TV Series to Focus on Young Aragorn, 'Multiple Sources' Claim
There's a new "Lord Of The Rings" coming to on-demand streaming, and according to a well-known source, it will be focusing on the story of a younger Aragorn. Amazon has announced earlier in November 2017 that they will be launching a new series based on J.R.R Tolkien's characters, but this time it looks like they will be breaking off from the author's published works.
This will be Amazon's take on a multi-season epic fantasy series along the lines of HBO's "Game of Thrones." The company is not about to take any chances with this new production either; according to earlier reports, this entire project's budget could hit a whopping $1 billion, including a $250 million reportedly allocated for the global rights for "Lord of the Rings" itself.
Considering that this sum is for what is believed to be five seasons plus the possibility of spinoff shows, it becomes a bit more reasonable. With the "Lord of the Rings" franchise backing the series, Amazon has essentially put this megadeal together to maximize their chances at a ratings hit.
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"This is a unique opportunity to tell new stories in a magical world that is a global phenomenon," Amazon head of scripted Sharon Tal Yguado said in an earlier interview. "As we build our diverse portfolio of programming, we are making some of our big bets on tentpole series," Yguado added.
Amazon has a big bet riding on this series, that as much has been evident for some time now. Since then, there has been little new information with regards to the actual story of the show, until known Tolkien fan account TheOneRing.net broke their scoop on social media.
"[BREAKING] We have confirmed from multiple sources that @AmazonStudios new billion-dollar #LOTR series will open its first season centered on a young Aragorn," the Twitter handle announced on Thursday, May 17.
TheOneRing.net is known as a reputable source, and it is mentioning multiple sources within Amazon Studios confirming their news, as Paste Magazine pointed out. Even then, this could be a huge gamble for Amazon to stray from Tolkien's published works, which are well loved all over the world and have cost them a quarter of a billion dollars to secure the rights to, as well.
Aragorn's years as a youth were not fully explored in any of Tolkien's books, either, so that leaves Amazon studios plenty of new ground to cover. Among the stories that they can pick up if they are indeed focusing on young Aragorn is his youth spent in Rivendell, his budding romance with Arwen and his days as a young Ranger, among others.
Whether this would be enough to run for multiple seasons remains to be seen, and more details are expected to eventually come out over the next few months.
