Lord of the Rings TV series gets multi-season order at Amazon

[Inziladun]

What's sad is really not so much that Amazon could feel the need to sexualize something Tolkien-based, but that they're likely right that a large portion of potential viewers may both expect and desire that.

I've so often felt I was born in the wrong time....

[Kuruharan]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

I've so often felt I was born in the wrong time....

Isn't that at least a little bit of a requirement for being a Tolkien fan?

You know...one might have hoped that the ignominious and universally reviled way in which Game of Thrones ended might have put the kibosh on further larks of this nature.

Yes, I realize too much money had already been sunk into the venture.

[Zigûr]

Maybe it's only going to be used in some way evocative of the decadence of Númenor in the days of its fall?

No, I guess the producers (perhaps accurately) believe that, these days, because of GoT, in the minds of the general public, fantasy fiction = nudity. Regardless of any other content.

This is going to make Peter Jackson's often broad approach look restrained I suspect.

[Kuruharan]

Originally Posted by Zigûr

Maybe it's only going to be used in some way evocative of the decadence of Númenor in the days of its fall?

That will probably be their excuse.

Of course, they probably feel they can also run wild with the other Men in Middle-earth who had more of Sauron's influence.

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Originally Posted by Zigûr

Maybe it's only going to be used in some way evocative of the decadence of Númenor in the days of its fall?

If this series ever gets to the last days of Númenor and the end of the Second Age, it certainly won't be in Season 1, which is what they're filming now.

[Kuruharan]

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hicklin

...Season 1, which is what they're filming now.

The Merry Wives of Gil-Galad..?

[Huinesoron]

TORn has provided what they describe as the official synopsis, though it doesn't really meet that definition to my mind:

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 things that jump out at me:

-"they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth." I take this to mean that the show definitely starts before the forging of the Rings, with everyone's pal Annatar.

-"Kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin." Which kingdoms are we going to see rise and fall? Not Lindon and Numenor - they were already risen very early in the Second Age. I would laugh if it's referring to Sauron's kingdom - hey, it's accurate! - but my guess is they're planning to show the founding of Ost-in-Edhil.

-"Unlikely heroes were tested". Um... who? The only possibility I can come up with is Isildur (based on his early characterisation as a doubter), but he can't be Season One, surely? Another option could be Elrond... I guess... if you re-characterised him a lot.

-"hope hung by the finest of threads". Not... in the mid-Second Age it didn't. Hope for the Eldar, maybe, but even if Sauron had taken Lindon and claimed the Three, Numenor and Mirkwood wouldn't have seen any change.

-"an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new". Does this mean 'original and canon characters' (we knew that), or does it mean 'Third Age characters and purely Second Age ones'? If the latter, it implies that Galadriel and Elrond will be playing substantial roles, since they're the only characters familiar to movie fans who are really around in the 2A.

-"From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains..." Khazad-Dum confirmed!

-"...to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon..." Now that's a weird artistic choice. If you're trying to highlight that this isn't the Third Age, why would you set Lindon in a forest, like Lorien? Oh... unless you just think 'elves = trees'.

-"...to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor..." We knew that.

-"...to the furthest reaches of the map." That's got to be Umbar, right? The only other option is those mountains in the east (Tolkien's mountains which shouldn't exist), which would imply... evil dwarves, maybe?

Overall, this is basically what you'd write if you were told nothing but "It's the Second Age". Still no actual information.

hS

[Boromir88]

I'm not sure what we're all worried about, it's not like the AUJ didn't have nudity. At least if you count the Extended Edition of it. You can catch a long distance shot of some CGI dwarf butts for about 5 seconds as they publicly bathe in Rivendell, in front of the disapproving Lindir. Can you believe that prude?

Anyway, it's a low standard to pass, any nudity that's not CGI naked dwarves bathing will be a positive for the series.

[Pitchwife]

Originally Posted by Kuruharan

You know...one might have hoped that the ignominious and universally reviled way in which Game of Thrones ended might have put the kibosh on further larks of this nature.

Speaking as someone who watched all of GoT, most of it sympathetically, and was very much disappointed by the ending, nudity had nothing to do with said disappointment.

We all come into the world naked and leave it naked, so what's the fuss? As long as it's well written anything goes. (Not that I'm getting my hopes up too high on that account.) Maybe we'll even get treated to some Annatar/Celebrimbor slash? [/channeling Ivriniel]

Or maybe the series is just going to delve into the married lives of Aldarion & Erendis, or Pharazon & Miriel, which may well involve some casual nudity, nothing worth getting our knickers in a twist.