Amazon's Lord of the Rings reveals an epic official description of the new series

Amazon Studios has finally revealed a detailed description of its mysterious Lord of the Rings TV series.

The streamer has confirmed an official description of the Middle Earth adventure series that's based on the works of author J.R.R. Tolkien.

As first reported by TheOneRing.Net: "Amazon Studios' forthcoming series brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth's history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien's pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness. Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone."

The Second Age followed the rise and fall of the first Dark Lord Morgoth's servant Sauron (the "greatest villain" teased above), whose battlefield defeat was shown in flashback during the opening of Peter Jackson's 2001 film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. The previously unseen location of Númenor will likely figure prominently in the series as it played a key role in the time period, which also included Sauron's forging of the One Ring and fall of the Nine Kings into becoming Ringwraiths.

A sprawling ensemble cast has been announced for the series, including Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Power, Spartacus), Benjamin Walker (Heart of the Sea), and Peter Mullan (Westworld), among many others.

Amazon is reportedly spending an incredible $500 million on the project with a five-season commitment – an unprecedented investment for a new TV series. The Lord of the Rings is currently filming in New Zealand, which is also where Jackson shot his acclaimed trilogy. The first season is expected to debut in either late 2021 or 2022.

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