The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will feature a bunch of new faces that fans of the original films will not recognize. But at least one person from Peter Jackson's beloved trilogy will be returning for the upcoming fantasy series.
According to Deadline, Howard Shore, who composed the scores for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), composed the main title theme for Prime Video's new series. Meanwhile, Bear McCreary is responsible for the rest of the drama's music.
Shore won three Academy Award nominations for his work on Lord of the Rings: Best Original Score for The Fellowship of the Ring and The Return of the King, and Best Original Song for The Return of the King's "Into the West." The same song also won him the Golden Globe for Best Original Song and the Grammy for Best Song - Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.
So far, Shore is the only crew member from the films to be involved in the new TV show. Peter Jackson was rumored to be attached in some capacity but later confirmed that he was not involved with the series. "I would hope to just be able to go into a Tolkien story and enjoy it like an audience member, which I’ve never been able to do. It’s one of the things I’ve missed out on, as people have enjoyed the movies we’ve made but I haven’t enjoyed them because I’ve made them," he said. "Even though we made the films that we wanted to see, you can’t see them properly, you can’t clear your head. So the thing that I am hoping is, if the series gets made, that I can just sit back and watch some Tolkien that I haven’t been part of… if I don’t get involved with it. So that’s what I’m looking forward to."
One other name fans of the films will recognize is Galadriel. Played by Morfydd Clark, this version of the character will be much younger than Cate Blanchett's take on the powerful Elf, as the TV series is set thousands of years before the movies.
Developed by J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay, The Rings of Power is based on the lengthy appendices of J. R. R. Tolkien's novels, condensing thousands of years of history and lore into a planned five-season TV series. The fantasy drama is not officially considered canon, as it does not follow the original timeline of Tolkien's work and introduces new characters.
Source: Deadline