While J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings books primarily focus on the events of the Third Age, Amazon's upcoming series based on the acclaimed franchise won't be tackling that era. Instead, The Lord of the Rings will focus on the Second Age, and the reason why has everything to do with the Tolkien Estate's deal with Amazon.
After settling a copyright infringement lawsuit in 2017, Warner Bros and the Tolkien Estate closed a $250 million deal with Amazon for the TV series. However, the Tolkien Estate established a number of conditions, one of which specified the series can only take place during the Second Age of Middle-earth.
The Tolkien Estate made this demand due to there being fewer details about the Second Age in the author's work, with most information coming from the appendices to The Lord of the Rings, Unfinished Tales and a few other supplementary documents. Therefore, by being set in the Second Age, Amazon's Lord of the Rings series is less likely to disrupt the franchise's canon. The mandate also allows Amazon to have more freedom in terms of what the series can interpret and build on regarding the characters and story, as opposed to the more constructed narratives of the First Age and Third Age.
Events from the First Age are allowed to be mentioned in the series, but only if they serve to explain what happens in the Second Age and remain absolutely faithful to Tolkien’s writing. In an interview, Tom Shippey, a Tolkien scholar who is overseeing the development on the series, explained, “The Tolkien estate will insist that the main shape of the Second Age is not altered.” Amazon will still have the opportunity to develop details about the Second Age, but the Tolkien Estate will be able to veto any changes it does not feel reflect the series.
Despite being comparatively underdeveloped, a lot of key events happened in the Second Age, which lasted 3,441 years. Some of those events include the sinister Sauron’s rise, the manifestation of the Ringwraiths and the early conflicts over the Rings of Power. As such, Amazon's Lord of the Rings will have plenty to explore and give the studio a chance to contribute to the franchise's mythos, potentially reigniting the passion of those fans disillusioned by such big-screen outings as The Hobbit trilogy.
Produced by Amazon Studios, The Lord of the Rings stars Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Budge, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers and Daniel Weyman. The series is expected to premiere on Amazon Prime in 2021.