Mr. Underhill wrote:

Yup, the action will be as much an important part of the show as the lore. As much as most of us want the lore to be front and center and action sequences to support the story. The market is there for this kind of program. Where the elves and men of the West are super heros of a sort. That’s how you bring in the casual fan and make the billions of dollars that Uruloke speaks of. The lore will definitely be there, and I have no doubt it will be accurate to Arda and some of Tolkien’s values may even be represented…but that won’t be the driver of the show.

Gloinson wrote:

Stu wrote:

None of these statements are truth - they are marketing for the product. I wouldn't expect them to be saying anything different, basically. I don't think we can read much into any of it.

To be fair, "none of these statements are (sic) truth " is an overly broad characterization considering none of us has seen any of the show. Yes, it is marketing, but occasionally marketing can be accurate.

Stu wrote:

Mr. Underhill wrote:

Yup, the action will be as much an important part of the show as the lore. As much as most of us want the lore to be front and center and action sequences to support the story. The market is there for this kind of program. Where the elves and men of the West are super heros of a sort. That’s how you bring in the casual fan and make the billions of dollars that Uruloke speaks of. The lore will definitely be there, and I have no doubt it will be accurate to Arda and some of Tolkien’s values may even be represented…but that won’t be the driver of the show.

I think action is fine, so long as the action has genuine stakes. If it is physics defying, there are essentially no stakes. That's the mistake Jackson made with The Hobbit. If characters can achieve the superhuman, in many ways there isn't much reason to care about the situations they find themselves in.

onthetrail wrote:

The action needs to be select and essential imo or else they will lose many viewers.

northman wrote:

onthetrail wrote:

The action needs to be select and essential imo or else they will lose many viewers.

I disagree with this. I think Jackson opened the door, and we are now heading towards the TCU. I think cartoon-action is what brings the most viewers and the MCU is evidence of this. We live in the age of instant gratification and continuous upping of the ante. The next generation will think Tolkien in bookform is slow and boring with some nice inpiration for great tv-shows.

onthetrail wrote:

northman wrote:

onthetrail wrote:

The action needs to be select and essential imo or else they will lose many viewers.

I disagree with this. I think Jackson opened the door, and we are now heading towards the TCU. I think cartoon-action is what brings the most viewers and the MCU is evidence of this. We live in the age of instant gratification and continuous upping of the ante. The next generation will think Tolkien in bookform is slow and boring with some nice inpiration for great tv-shows.

I don't agree. Amazon are not stupid and they know that fans of Tolkien were underwhelmed by The Hobbit movies, and also that the traditional Tolkien fan is not a fan of the MCU. The TCU is often cited as where its going but I don't agree with that. If Amazon were primarily concerned with profit then tolkien would not have been the source they went to. they want prestige and I doubt that they think creating a TCU is the way to go.

northman wrote:

onthetrail wrote:

northman wrote:

onthetrail wrote:

The action needs to be select and essential imo or else they will lose many viewers.

I disagree with this. I think Jackson opened the door, and we are now heading towards the TCU. I think cartoon-action is what brings the most viewers and the MCU is evidence of this. We live in the age of instant gratification and continuous upping of the ante. The next generation will think Tolkien in bookform is slow and boring with some nice inpiration for great tv-shows.

I don't agree. Amazon are not stupid and they know that fans of Tolkien were underwhelmed by The Hobbit movies, and also that the traditional Tolkien fan is not a fan of the MCU. The TCU is often cited as where its going but I don't agree with that. If Amazon were primarily concerned with profit then tolkien would not have been the source they went to. they want prestige and I doubt that they think creating a TCU is the way to go.

I would hope you are right, but what I see on SoMe is a tangible change in tolkien fandom. I doubt they need bookfans onboard to make a commercial success.

This is pure speculation of course. I just listen to the talk among my own friends and my daughters and their friends. Just one of my daughters closest friends have actually read tolkien, they have all seen the movies (or as they call them the "old movies") and they will see the tv-series because its already hyped quite alot - the big shows that the streaming services push tend to get alot of viewers and 'the lord of the rings' and 'tolkien' are names that like 'spiderman' or 'sherlock holmes' bring curiosity and attention. BTW how many viewers of BBC's sherlock has actually read Arthur Conan Doyle?

onthetrail wrote:

I think either of us could be right or entirely wrong on this, and time will tell how Amazon take this forward. I think if they took my approach and saw little gains then the TCU may well end up being where they go.

I doubt many viewers will have read Tolkien, or Doyle for that matter. Good point.

I see all the pristine books on peoples shelves and I wonder how many actually poured over Tolkien, especially those shouting the loudest on Social Media about being true to Tolkien.

What a difference thousands of years makes. In Tolkien’s Middle-earth, Elves live for millennia – and so when we met Cate Blanchett’s ethereal Galadriel in Peter Jackson’s The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring, her performance came steeped in eons of experience and memory reflecting her stature. But just like the you of 10 years ago might be pretty different to the you of today, the Galadriel we meet in Prime Video’s The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power has a long way to go before she becomes the one played by Blanchett. Here, she’s portrayed by Welsh actor Morfydd Clark, who put in an astonishing performance in Rose Glass’s psychological horror Saint Maud.

Where that film was all blood, cockroaches, and shoes filled with drawing pins, The Rings Of Power was an altogether more adventure-filled shoot. “It was like being on a school trip!” Clark tells Empire in our world-exclusive cover feature. “I got to do swimming, riding, climbing…” That sense of outdoorsiness hints at a more active incarnation of Galadriel, one who, according to the actor, “still has a lot to learn” through the course of the show. “I had to find that balance between someone who has got an element of the eternal but hasn’t yet seen it all. Don’t expect the same character that you meet later on.” She is, of course, reverent to Blanchett’s portrayal – aware of the lineage she’s stepping into that is, in a word, legendary. “Galadriel is legendary. Cate Blanchett as Galadriel was legendary. Tolkien himself is legendary!” she enthuses.

As for the world that Galadriel will be adventuring in, Clark promises big things. “[I] was not aware of how limited my imagination is until I stepped onto the set,” she says, hinting at much Middle-earthian magic to come. “It was like, ‘Oh my God, I have the imagination of a paper bag compared to this!” Get ready for wonders in this world beyond your wandering.

For a villain you barely see, Sauron casts an incredibly long shadow over the Lord Of The Rings (and not just because his tower really is very tall). He’s the ultimate evil of Middle-earth and his presence looms large in Peter Jackson’s movies, even though we only ever really see him in full form in Fellowship’s prologue – elsewhere, he’s mainly watching via his blazing eye from the top of Barad-dûr, or speaking through the corrupted man given extended life as the Mouth of Sauron (see Return Of The King’s extended edition). In Prime Video’s upcoming streaming series The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power, the influence of Sauron will continue to be felt – and his destiny is entwined with that of Celebrimbor, a name sure to be known by Tolkien die-hards.

Fellowships’s prologue offers some idea of what JD Payne and Patrick McKay’s show has in store, giving a glimpse of the Second Age of Middle-earth. And here, we’ll see exactly how Sauron meddles with Celebrimbor – the Elf responsible for the rings that spark this whole tale. “We’re dealing with one of the greatest villains that’s ever been created in Sauron,” Payne tells Empire in our world-exclusive cover story. “And one of the central figures in the story is the character of Celebrimbor. He’s an Elven smith who was manipulated into helping create the Rings Of Power. We’re excited to be bringing him to Middle-earth. He’s very mysterious.” The character comes directly from Tolkien’s extensive Legendarium (and has been brought to the screen before, if not so faithfully, in the Shadow Of Mordor and Shadow Of War video games), here played by Charles Edwards.

With the story of Sauron and Celebrimbor taking place alongside a tapestry of tales involving Dwarves, Elves, and Harfoots, prepare for all of Tolkien’s signature tones (High adventure! High fantasy! Holy-crap horror!) to appear in The Rings Of Power. “Lord Of The Rings doesn’t skirt over the darkness,” says Payne. “It takes you to the steps of Cirith Ungol and the lair of Shelob, where friends are betraying each other and characters are being dragged into Mordor. It’s a harrowing experience you go through. But in the end, there’s always a star in the sky that says, ‘Keep going.’ We wanted to find that spirit in this series.” The forging of friendships, factions, enemies, and – yes – rings is about to begin.