Bernard Hill, who played King Théoden of Rohan in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, is completely uninterested in Amazon's The Rings of Power prequel series.
In an interview with Metro, Hill was asked if he'd ever watched Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video in September. The actor was immediately dismissive. "No, not interested. It’s a money-making venture and I’m not interested in watching that or being in it. Good luck to them and all that stuff but it’s not like the real thing," Hill said. He was then asked if he believed the franchise should've ended after the original movie trilogy. "Completely, yes. I think they were pushing it when they made The Hobbit. The Hobbit’s a tiny book. They did it well — they did it really, really well. They expanded it [but] I think you can only stretch a piece of elastic so far."
Unlike the original Lord of the Rings trilogy or The Hobbit trilogy, The Rings of Power is not based on any specific books by J. R. R. Tolkien. It is an original story that adapts material from the author's complex history of Middle-earth, using events and characters from appendices and works like The Silmarillion. The show takes place during the Second Age of Middle-earth (for context, Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit take place during the Third Age), and follows the Elves' struggles with the evil Morgoth. Eventually, the show expands into the creation of the Rings of Power and the rise of Sauron, the great evil eye who seeks to conquer Middle-earth in the original books.
The Rings of Power initially had an incredibly strong premiere, attracting 25 million viewers during the first 24 hours. This was Amazon's most-watched premiere to date and even though viewership steadily decreased throughout the season, the streaming service is pushing ahead with a second season which is currently filming. Showrunners, J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay have announced that they're looking at critical feedback while filming Season 2, but most of the next chapter was already planned out before the series even premiered.
Bernard Hill is perhaps most well known for portraying Théoden in The Two Towers and Return of the King. Initially a villainous king who coldly receives Aragorn and his allies, he eventually becomes a valuable ally of the Fellowship after being freed from the influence of his advisor, Grima. Besides Lord of the Rings, Hill is also known for playing Captain Edward Smith in Titanic, and the warden of San Quentin Prison in Clint Eastwood's True Crime.
Season 1 of The Rings of Power is currently available on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: Metro