J.A. Bayona to Direct First Episodes of Amazon’s Lord of the Rings Series

J.A. Bayona to direct first two episodes of Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series

Deadline is reporting that Juan Antonio (J.A.) Bayona (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, The Orphanage, The Impossible) will direct the first two episodes of Amazon Studios’ The Lord of the Rings TV series.

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“J.R.R. Tolkien created one of the most extraordinary and inspiring stories of all time, and as a lifelong fan, it is an honor and a joy to join this amazing team. I can’t wait to take audiences around the world to Middle-earth and have them discover the wonders of the Second Age, with a never before seen story,” said Bayona.

Bayona will also executive produce alongside his producing partner Belén Atienza. JD Payne and Patrick McKay are writing the series, with Emmy-winner Bryan Cogman (Game of Thrones) onboard as a consultant and Gennifer Hutchison (Breaking Bad) apparently making up a part of the writers’ room as well.

The highly-anticipated Lord of the Rings series will be set in the Second Age, Amazon recently confirmed. That places approximately 3,000 years of history between the series and the beginning of The Lord of the Rings. Casual fans may not realize it, but Jackson’s Fellowship of the Rings actually depicted the end of the Second Age, when the last alliance of elves and men confronted Sauron’s forces. The Second Age covered nearly 3,441 years, and it began after the banishment of Morgoth, the dark lord before Sauron. There’s a lot of story potential in that time, including the rise of Sauron, the creation of the One Ring, and the emergence of the Ringwraiths.

The rights to the fan-favorite fantasy series were acquired by Amazon last year and is expected to be the most expensive television series ever made, rumored figures for both the television rights and production costs for the entire series are in the $500 million range.

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The Lord of the Rings series is produced by Amazon Studios in cooperation with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins, and New Line Cinema.

Production has yet to begin for Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series but is expected to premiere in 2021.

(Photo Credit: Getty Images)

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