We know Jeff Bezos’ pockets run deep, but not $ 465 million for Amazon’s upcoming first season The Lord of the Rings series!
Credit: New Line Cinema
Related: Why JRR Tolkien Never Let Walt Disney Touch ‘The Lord Of The Rings’
The Lord of the Rings novel and film franchises are among the most successful in history. 20 years later, fans watching the Peter Jackson movies still feel like they are watching the adventures of Gandalf, Legolas and Frodo unfold for the first time.
The work of author JRR Tolkien will live on forever as one of the greatest pieces of fantasy literature. It’s not everyday that you are immersed in a fantasy world that seems so real but lives on the pages of a book. The dream of living in Middle-earth is slowly becoming a reality as fans urge theme parks to build an actual Shire and Bag End from The Hobbit.
Now Amazon is pursuing this Middle-earth dream as Gollum pursues the Ring of Dark Lord Sauron with their neighbor The Lord of the Rings series.
It is reported that the season one of Rings the series costs the company 465 million dollars!
Credit: New Line Cinema
Related: Should Disney Buy ‘The Lord Of The Rings’ (& Add It To The Parks)?
Over the past decade, streaming services like Netflix and Hulu have become more popular than cable TV and have completely reshaped Hollywood production. Never before has a company like Netflix (which does not run ads) invested millions of dollars to invest in “original content,” a term unheard of before 2013. This content has grown into an award-winning series featuring Strange things and The crown.
Now, streaming platforms like HBO Max, Apple TV + and Disney + have jumped on the bandwagon.
According to Insider, it has been reported that the first season of The Mandalorian on Disney + cost Mouse House about $ 100 million – about $ 12.5 million per episode.
Insider said:
“But it’s still cheaper than the Disney Plus Marvel shows in development. “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” “WandaVision” and “Hawkeye” each cost $ 25 million per episode, according to THR. Variety previously reported that the shows would run for six to eight episodes, so each series could cost between $ 150 million and $ 200 million. “
Credit: Lucasfilm
Related: Chewbacca Or Other Wookiees May Appear In ‘The Mandalorian’
Yet Din Djarin’s galaxy flying in his Empire’s Razor Crest (The Mandalorian) or little old Westview, with NJ being hijacked by an emotionally torn Avenger (WandaVision) costs less combined of an Amazon season The Lord of the Rings original series.
It’s official – Middle-earth costs more than a galaxy far, far away!
This news comes from The Hollywood Reporter, after the New Zealand Minister of Economic Development and Tourism shared:
“What I can tell you is that Amazon is going to spend around $ 650 million (NZ) for the first season alone. It’s fantastic, it’s really… It’s going to be the greatest TV series ever.
Credit: New Line Cinema
Hollywood journalist shared this season of The game of thrones would have cost $ 100 million to produce. Quadruple that number, and it’s mind boggling trying to figure out what Amazon has planned for the new the Lord of the Rings show, which will cost 465 million US dollars.
Avengers: Endgame (2019) would be the most expensive film ever to be made at around $ 350 million. The film shattered world box office records and grossed over $ 3 billion in less than six months.
Assuming this season is one of The Lord of the Rings the series has eight to ten episodes that last between 45 minutes and 1 hour, which is approximately $ 52 million per episode! It looks like Amazon is ambitiously making a mini-movie with every episode – which is awesome!
In 2019, Apple revealed that their series the Morning show starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon would cost $ 300 for two seasons – not just one!
Credit: Lucasfilm
Related: Disney Finally Settles Controversy With Iconic ‘Star Wars’ Writer
Star wars and The Lord of the Rings have a few things in common, but their budgets are not one of them!
The Mandalorian is one of the most popular shows in streaming history. The original series spawned many spin-off projects centered on Star wars characters. Star wars fans are loyal and can wait (impatiently) for years to find new content for the Skywalker Saga and beyond. Despite not having received a budget of $ 465 million, the production level for both seasons is out of this galaxy.
LOTR fans have waited almost a decade for brand new content. Just like the solidity of Sauron, production on the future the Lord of the Rings projects came to an end after Peter Jackson completed his The Hobbit trilogy in 2014. However, Mount Doom rumbles once again with the new Rings TV series and fans are ready.
There is little information about which aspect of Tolkien’s work this show will focus on, such as seeing the First King of Gondor or the events of The Silmarillion – but it looks like Amazon has something big planned. The budget of one of their episodes could produce that of George Lucas Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) nearly five times!
Credit: New Line Cinema
It is reported that the budget for the whole The Lord of the Rings film series is around 280 million dollars. Return of the king (2003) alone grossed over $ 1 billion, but given that Prime Video does not run ads on its platform, no one knows how Amazon will bounce back from an investment of nearly $ 500 million. for a season.
Although there is little information about the series, it is reported that the evil Sauron and the Ring of Power will not be present. We still don’t know who our hero will be this time around in Hobbiton, but it’s safe to say that Elijah Wood and his company will unfortunately not be returning. Don’t worry, there is still so much to say about Middle-earth!
Nonetheless, the high level of production promises fans will see in Amazon. The Lord of the Rings show (and whatever perilous quest the production team decides to take on) will redefine how we’re going to watch the show. The VFX and technology used for the original series will surely be groundbreaking and hopefully help advance Tolkien’s work to future generations.
What do you think of amazon LOTR show? Let us know in the comments below!