The Lord of the Rings (TV series)

In July 2017, a lawsuit was settled between Warner Bros., the company behind the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films, and the Tolkien Estate, the estate of author J. R. R. Tolkien upon whose books those films were based. With the two sides "on better terms" following the settlement, they began shopping a potential television series based on Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings books to several outlets, including Amazon, Netflix, and HBO.[8] By September, Amazon had emerged as the frontrunner and entered negotiations for the series.[9][10] In an uncommon move for programming developments at the studio, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos was personally involved with the negotiations;[10] Bezos had previously given Amazon Studios a mandate to develop a fantasy series of comparable scale to HBO's Game of Thrones, which had made the company the lead contender for the project.[8]

On November 13, 2017, Amazon closed a deal to acquire the global television rights for the books. The rights cost close to $250 million, before any development or production costs. Industry commentators described this amount as "insane", especially since Amazon agreed to pay for the rights without any creative talent being attached to the project.[8] As part of the deal, Amazon's streaming service Prime Video gave a multi-season commitment to the series that was believed to be for five seasons, with the possibility of creating a spin-off series as well. The series' budget was expected to be in the range of $100 million to $150 million per season, and was likely to eventually exceed $1 billion which would make it the most expensive television series ever.[9][8] Amazon Studios wanted to produce the series themselves, so Warner Bros. Television would not be involved in the project, with Amazon instead working with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins, and New Line Cinema.[8] New Line, the Warner Bros. division who produced the films, was included in the deal due to the potential for the series to use material from the films.[9] The series is a prequel to the events of The Lord of the Rings, depicting "previously unexplored stories" based on Tolkien's works, with some creative restrictions imposed on the series by the Tolkien Estate.[8] The deal stipulated that production on the series begin within two years.[9]

By April 2018, Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film director Peter Jackson had begun discussing his potential involvement in the series with Amazon,[9] but in June he was confirmed to not be involved in the series.[11] Later that month, Head of Amazon Studios Jennifer Salke said discussions with Jackson were ongoing as to how much involvement he would have in the series. She added that the deal for the series had only been officially closed around a month earlier, and the studio had been meeting with many different writers about the project. They intended to have a game plan for the series and a writing team set "very soon", with the hope that the series could debut in 2021.[12] Amazon hired writers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay to develop the series in July.[13] That December, Jackson stated that he and his producing partners were potentially going to read scripts for the series and offer notes to the writers, but otherwise would not be involved in the project. He stated, "I wish them all the best and if we can help them we certainly will try".[14] Jackson also expressed excitement at being able to watch a Tolkien adaptation as an audience member after not being able to have that experience with the films that he made.[15]

Bryan Cogman joined the series as a consultant in May 2019 after signing an overall deal with Amazon. Cogman previously served as a writer on Game of Thrones, and was set to work alongside Payne and McKay in developing the new series.[16] In July, J. A. Bayona was hired to direct the first two episodes of the series and serve as executive producer alongside his producing partner Belén Atienza.[3] Later that month, Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss were in discussions with several outlets regarding signing an overall deal, including with Amazon who were interested in having the pair consult on The Lord of the Rings;[17] they ultimately signed a deal with Netflix instead.[18] At the end of July, Amazon announced that Payne and McKay would serve as showrunners and executive producers for the series, and revealed the full creative team that was working on the project: executive producers Bayona, Atienza, Bruce Richmond, Gene Kelly, Lindsey Weber, and Sharon Tal Yguado; co-producer Ron Ames; costume designer Kate Hawley; production designer Rick Heinrichs; visual effects supervisor Jason Smith; and illustrator/concept artist John Howe, who was one of the chief conceptual designers on the films.[19][20] Additionally, Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey was revealed to be working on the series,[20] though he was believed to no longer be involved in the project by April 2020.[21]

Following the first season, Cogman left the series to focus on developing new projects. Kelly also left the series, with Callum Greene joining as a new executive producer. Greene previously served as producer on The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013).[22][23]

Salke said in June 2018 that the series could be filmed in New Zealand, where the films were produced, but Amazon was also willing to film in other countries as long as they could "provide those locations in a really authentic way, because we want it to look incredible".[24] Pre-production on the series reportedly began around that time in Auckland,[25] while location scouting for the series also took place in Scotland, with areas visited by the production including the Isle of Skye, Portpatrick, Scourie, Perthshire, and Loch Lomond.[26] Amazon and Creative Scotland held talks about the series' production being based at new studios that were under construction in Leith, Edinburgh.[27] In December, Amazon held a "crisis meeting" with David Parker, New Zealand's Minister of Economic Development, after the studio threatened to take the production out of the country due to the lack of available studio space in Auckland.[28] During the meeting, Parker told Amazon they were welcome in New Zealand and the country's government wanted them to make the series there, but he did not propose any special deal for the series because "you don't want these things at any cost; you want them on terms that are good for New Zealand". New Zealand's Major Screen Production Grant, which provides up to a 25 per cent refund in tax for international productions, was offered to Amazon for the series.[29]

Filming was informally confirmed to take place in New Zealand at the end of June, with leases taking effect at Kumeu Film Studios and Auckland Film Studios in July. Auckland was chosen as the primary filming location in the country rather than Wellington, where the Lord of the Rings films were produced, because the studios that were used to produce the films in Wellington were in use by the Avatar films at the time that production for the series was set to begin.[25] Amazon's decision to film in New Zealand was reportedly influenced by the New Zealand government's reassurances that the country was safe to film in following the Christchurch mosque shootings in March 2019, as well as the potential effects of Brexit in Scotland. While production was set to primarily take place in Auckland, additional filming was expected to take place in Queenstown and other locations around New Zealand.[30] Amazon officially announced that the series would be filmed in New Zealand in September 2019, after completing negotiations with the New Zealand Government and the New Zealand Film Commission, as well as Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED). The studio said filming was set to begin on the series in "the coming months", with some specific locations still being discussed according to ATEED. Payne and McKay explained that in choosing the series' primary location, they and the production team had needed "somewhere majestic, with pristine coasts, forests, and mountains" that could also meet the production requirements of the series.[31][1]

Prime Video gave the series a multi-season commitment, believed to be for five seasons, as part of the initial deal with the Tolkien Estate,[9][8] though the streaming service still had to give a formal greenlight to future seasons before work could begin on them.[32] In July 2019, Shippey stated that he believed the first season of the series was supposed to consist of 20 episodes.[33] In November, Amazon officially ordered a second season of the series, and scheduled a longer-than-usual four or five month production break after completion of filming on the first two episodes. This was to allow all the footage for the first episodes to be reviewed, and so the series' writers room could be reconvened to begin work on the second season before filming on the first season continued. This gave the series the option to film the first two seasons back-to-back, as the Lord of the Rings films had been.[32] In January 2020, Amazon announced that the first season would consist of eight episodes.[34]

A writers room for the series had begun work in Santa Monica by mid-February 2019. Salke described extensive security measures that were being taken to keep details of this writing secret, including windows being taped closed and a security guard requiring fingerprint clearance from those entering the room.[35] In addition to Payne and McKay, writers on the series include Gennifer Hutchison, Helen Shang, Jason Cahill, Justin Doble, Bryan Cogman, and Stephany Folsom, with Glenise Mullins acting as a consulting writer.[19][20] The writers room was set to be disbanded once production on the series began, but would be reconvened during the four or five month break in filming that was scheduled following production on the first two episodes. The writers were expected to map out the second season and write the majority of its scripts during this production break.[32]

At the start of March 2019, Amazon revealed that the series would be set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, thousands of years before the story of The Lord of the Rings.[36] Shippey explained that the series was not allowed to contradict anything that Tolkien had written about the Second Age and would have to follow the broad strokes of his narrative, with the Tolkien Estate prepared to veto any such changes, but Amazon was free to add characters or details to fill in the gaps between Tolkien's works. The series is also only allowed to adapt and reference content from the Lord of the Rings books and their extensive appendices rather than any of Tolkien's other books that explore the Second Age such as The Silmarillion. The Tolkien Estate retained the rights to the events of the First Age while Middle-earth Enterprises held the rights to the events of the Third Age (as seen in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings films), so the series was also not allowed to explore those. Shippey felt this left the series with "a lot of scope for interpretation and free invention".[33] A synopsis for the series revealed in January 2021 that locations for the series included the Misty Mountains, the elf-capital Lindon, and the island kingdom of Númenor.[2]

Jackson stated in December 2018 that it was his understanding that the series would be set in the same continuity as the films, with Amazon wanting to "keep the designs" that were created for the films.[15] Howe reiterated this in August 2019, saying the showrunners were determined to remain faithful to the designs of the film trilogies as well as the spirit of the books. On transitioning from designing for the films to working on the television series, Howe stated that there was a budgetary difference but they intended there to be no aesthetic difference. He added that the development process for the television series was the same as initial design work done on the films, beginning with conceptual designs.[37]

Salke stated in June 2018 that though the series would not be a remake of the films, it would include some characters from the films.[24] By July 2019, casting for the series was taking place around the world, with casting directors working in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.[38] Casting for extras began in New Zealand at that time.[39] Markella Kavenagh was in talks to portray a character referred to as "Tyra" at the end of July,[40] a series regular role.[38] Will Poulter was cast as one of the series' leads, reportedly called "Beldor", in September.[41][42] The role was "one of the more coveted jobs" for young actors in Hollywood before Poulter's casting.[42] Maxim Baldry was cast in a "significant role" in mid-October,[43] with Joseph Mawle cast later that month. Mawle is reportedly playing the series' lead villain, "Oren".[44] In December, Ema Horvath was cast in another series regular role;[45] Poulter left the series due to scheduling conflicts;[46] and Morfydd Clark was cast as a young Galadriel, who was portrayed in the films by Cate Blanchett.[6]

Robert Aramayo was cast in the lead role for the series, replacing Poulter, in early January 2020.[47] A week later, Amazon officially announced that the series' main cast would include Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Budge, Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Horvath, Kavenagh, Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, and Daniel Weyman. Amazon's co-head of television Vernon Sanders noted that there were still some key roles that had yet to be filled.[4] One of these key roles was confirmed to go to Baldry in March when his deal for the series was completed, after he had been informally attached to the series in October 2019.[48][43] In December 2020, Amazon announced 20 new cast members for the series: Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Baldry, newcomer Ian Blackburn, Kip Chapman, Anthony Crum, Maxine Cunliffe, Trystan Gravelle, Lenny Henry, Thusitha Jayasundera, Fabian McCallum, Simon Merrells, Geoff Morrell, Peter Mullan, Lloyd Owen, Augustus Prew, Peter Tait, Alex Tarrant, Leon Wadham, Benjamin Walker, and Sara Zwangobani. Blackburn, Chapman, Crum, Cunliffe, Tait, Tarrant, and Wadham are all New Zealanders, with the rest of the cast members coming from Australia, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Payne and McKay described the casting update as "the culmination of a multi-year search".[5]

Table reads with the cast in New Zealand had begun by mid-January 2020, ahead of the start of filming in early February,[4][49] with J.A. Bayona directing the first two episodes.[3] Production began in Auckland, primarily at Kumeu Film Studios and Auckland Film Studios.[25] While rehearsing a stunt on February 7, stuntwoman Elissa Cadwell was injured when she struck her head while falling into a water tank at Kumeu. Amazon began reviewing the incident, but did not notify New Zealand's workplace health and safety regulator WorkSafe until February 14. By then, Caldwell was recovering from her injuries at home after being treated in hospital.[50] Location filming also took place in February around Auckland.[51]

Filming for the first two episodes of the series was expected to continue through May,[52] with a four- or five-month production break then planned. During the break, the footage for the first two episodes would be reviewed and writing on the second season would begin.[32] Production on the series was scheduled to resume in mid-October and continue until late June 2021.[52] However, filming for the series was placed on hold indefinitely in mid-March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with around 800 cast and crew members told to stay home.[53] In early May, the majority of filming for the first two episodes was confirmed to have been completed before the COVID-19 shutdown. At that time, filming on the series was allowed to resume under new safety guidelines from the New Zealand government, but Amazon did not plan to complete filming for the first two episodes then. Instead, the shutdown segued into the intended production break, with filming for the first two episodes set to be completed once filming on further episodes was ready to begin.[54]

The series was one of seven film and television productions that were granted exemptions to allow cast and crew members to enter New Zealand while its borders were closed to non-New Zealanders due to COVID-19. The exemptions were granted before June 18 by Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford, and applied to 93 members of the production as well as 20 family members. Around 10 percent of the series' crew were believed to be non-New Zealanders, and many of them had remained in the country during its pandemic lockdown and did not require exemptions. Pre-production on further episodes began by July 2020,[55] and filming on the series resumed on September 28.[56] Bayona completed filming on his episodes by December 23,[57] with production on further episodes set to begin in January 2021 following a two week break for Christmas.[57][58]