Posted Mon Jul 30, 2018 at 08:00 AM PDT by Steven Cohen
A creative team has been announced for the upcoming streaming series.
As detailed by The Hollywood Reporter, Amazon has hired writers JD Payne and Patrick McKay to develop the studio's new Lord of the Rings prequel series for Prime Video. Though plot details remain elusive, the show is expected to premiere by 2021.
The news comes from Amazon Studios' head of TV and film Jennifer Salke, who made the announcement during the recent Television Critics Association's summer press tour. JD Payne and Patrick McKay were chosen to help spearhead the project after an extensive search. The pair also wrote the upcoming fourth entry in the big screen Star Trek franchise and are attached to Disney's Jungle Cruise set to star The Rock.
Salke also revealed that Amazon is still in talks with director Peter Jackson about his potential involvement with the series. Jackson previously directed the big screen Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies for New Line Cinema.
Amazon's $250 million agreement with the Tolkien estate, HarperCollins, and New Line Cinema covers the small screen rights to the Lord of the Rings franchise for a five-season commitment. Likewise, the deal also includes the potential for a spin-off series. With that said, in order to be in compliance with the contract, Amazon has to get production rolling on the project within two years. And it's looking like the whole endeavor could end up costing more than Smaug's treasure. All in, the budget estimate for the proposed five-season run is over $1 billion.
An exact release date for the new Lord of the Rings series has not been announced yet, but the show will debut exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. A current Amazon Prime subscription costs $119 per year or $13 per month. Likewise, Prime Instant Video is available as a standalone service for $9 per month.
Sources: The Hollywood Reporter
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