The rumour of a Lord of the Rings television show caused a hell of a lot of fanfare. Even though there have been two trilogies, which each film lasting at least two hours, people seem to still be hungry for the universe that author J. R. R. Tolkien created in 1954 (yeah it's that old).
But there has now been an official confirmation that the fantasy novels involving Frodo, Gandalf, Aragon and Gollum will be getting a silver screen reboot. However, instead of rehashing that famous tale, the TV show will reportedly delve into new storylines that happen before The Fellowship of the Ring.
Head of scripted series for Amazon, Sharon Tal Yguado has told Variety: "The Lord of the Rings is a cultural phenomenon that has captured the imagination of generations of fans through literature and the big screen.
Credit: New Line Cinema
"We are honored to be working with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins and New Line on this exciting collaboration for television and are thrilled to be taking The Lord of the Rings fans on a new epic journey in Middle Earth."
A spokesperson for the Tolkien estate confirmed that it would be a multi-season commitment, meaning fans will have tons of hours of Middle Earth goodness to feast on. It's not hard to see why studio executives would be pursuing a show like this, considering the movies collectively made nearly $3 billion (£2.28 billion) at the Box Office and were nominated for a whopping 30 Academy Awards - of which they won 17.
While The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King all have Rotten Tomato ratings in the low to mid-90s; the following The Hobbit trilogy wasn't as well received.
However, considering Game of Thrones is coming to an end very soon, it means this show will be the perfect series to get into. In fact, the head of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, hasn't been shy about his desire to have a hit show like Game of Thrones on his platform.
Credit: New Line Cinema
Amazon Studios Chief Executive Roy Price has told Variety: "I do think Game of Thrones is to TV as Jaws and Star Wars was to the movies of the 1970s.
"It'll inspire a lot of people. Everybody wants a big hit and certainly that's the show of the moment in terms of being a model for a hit.
"We've been looking at the data for some time, and as a team we're increasingly focused on the impact of the biggest shows. It's pretty evident that it takes big shows to move the needle."
So maybe this Lord of the Rings reboot could be just the start of Amazon's bid to outdo the likes of Netflix - as well as keep worlds like Middle Earth still alive.
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Sources: Variety
Topics: Movies, Awesome, TV and Film, UK Entertainment, US Entertainment, Amazon, Lord Of The Rings