Amazon Tease Lord Of The Rings TV Series Will Tell The Story Of The One Ring

New Line Cinema

Amazon have hinted their highly-anticipated Lord Of The Rings TV series could tell the story behind Sauron’s One Ring. 

The streaming service have been keeping very quiet about the details of the show since it was confirmed in 2017, and though many have speculated about the plot of the series, fans are basically still very much in the dark about the whole thing.

The lack of information could be a technique to build hype, or it could be that the company spent all their money on the show and don’t have any left for advertising.

New Line Cinema

Amazon beat out Netflix for a $250 million rights deal with the Tolkien estate, publisher HarperCollins and New Line Cinema, which locked in a five-season commitment to bring LOTR to the small screen, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The series is expected to cost over $1 billion to make, reportedly making it the most expensive TV series ever.

The official Twitter account for the series sprang up in November last year, but its first tweets didn’t appear until last week, when the streaming service started dropping the first real hints about what the show could be about.

The tweets have been following a theme, with the first quoting creator J.R.R. Tolkien, reading:

I wisely started with a map.

Following tweets included maps which gradually became more detailed, adding locations and allowing fans to explore the landscape in an interactive version.

Amazon appear to hint about the setting of the series in the map, as the region names are archaic to the familiar era of the Third Age, which fans will recognise as the time The Hobbit and LOTR took place.

Rather than the kingdom of Rohan, which was founded in 2510 in the Third Age, there is Calenardhon. And Gondor, which was founded by King Elendil and his sons during the Second Age of Middle Earth, is nowhere to be seen.

The maps were accompanied by quotes from The Lord Of The Rings, with one tweet reading:

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,

And the next saying:

Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,

The text makes up the first two phrases from a description of how Sauron deceived the kingdoms of Elves, Men and Dwarves with the rings of power.

The full quote is as follows:

Three rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for mortal men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne;
In the Land of Mordor where the shadows lie

Warner Bros

The quotes and maps could possibly suggest the upcoming series will take place during the Second Age, showing the formation of Gondor and detailing how Sauron plotted against the kingdoms with the forging of the rings.

While Amazon have made fans dig deep to give meaning to these subtle clues, people are all too happy to speculate and share their ideas:

No official release date for The Lord Of The Rings TV series has been set yet, but due to the terms of the agreement between the Tolkien estate, HarperCollins and New Line Cinema, Amazon are required to begin production within two years; meaning it will be underway by November 2019 at least.

Until then, fans will just have to rely on Amazon’s cryptic clues to learn more about the show!

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Emily Brown

Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.