The whole trilogy is the most successful fantasy series of all time. It depicts the importance of the need to stand up against evil and unify. The book details very well how the relationship between The Nine grows and evolves. Peter Jackson provided these relationships to deepen these characters more for its cinematic journey, between Sam and Frodo, Pippin and Merry. With a poetic linguistic approach, told and inspired by the source material, Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens understood the material enough to make it all believable for the audience. Even though they tried a similar method with the adaption of The Hobbit, a small children’s book, that chronicles Frodo’s uncle Bilbo and his adventure with 13 dwarfs.

As Guillermo Del Toro departed the Hobbit – project, and Jackson returned once more to Middle-Earth to direct a film split in three, fans probably had high hopes on how to deliver it. The book itself and the source material wasn’t enough to span over a trilogy, which made the director himself and the film crew improvise as the production went along. Jackson himself later on admitted that he didn’t know what he was doing when making those films.

“Because Guillermo Del Toro had to leave, and I jumped in and took over, we didn’t wind the clock back a year and a half and give me a year and a half prep to design the movie, which was different to what he was doing,” reveals Jackson. “It was impossible, and as a result of it being impossible, I just started shooting the movie with most of it not prepped at all.

With rushed production and no insight into the true meaning of the project, the Hobbit trilogy became a sort of mainstream and despite its flaws, it has generated billions at the Box Office. The bleak tone, new characters, and overuse of CGI crippled the beloved fairy tale. Hunger for explosive and extravagant narration, the first two films were the only ones that truly landed on top.  Despite a runtime exceeding 8 hours, amid 3 hours for each of the films, The Hobbit – trilogy doesn’t bring the joy, adventurous and illuminating spirit The Lord of the Rings delivered. The same momentum and cross-to-bear shares with The Skywalker Saga told in nine movies where the original trilogy is the only one gaining collective respect.

Released in December 2001-2003, The trilogy of The Lord of the Rings is the most awarded trilogy in 17 Oscars, in categories from directing, adapted screenplay and make-up, costume to the soundtrack. With the final film The Return of the King, released in 2003, it ended on a grand slam – winning all of its nominations.

In the prospect of all the awards and the success, it would be strange if HBO’s fantasy-epic Game of Thrones on 8 seasons didn’t take inspiration from Lord of the Rings films. 

Two decades ago, the feature film The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) was released to the screen showing its pure potential in celebrating the narration from J.R.R Tolkien but at the same time adapting a faithful story of the characters and the world Tolkien embraced. Director Peter Jackson did this together with a major ensemble cast of prolific actors and thousands of visual effects. Preparing for several years, the film crew prepared the movie with written scripts beforehand and shoot the three films simultaneously.  It was a high-budget film and an unprecedented method, as usual, this method does not sell well with production companies.

But fortunately, the producers of New Line Cinema and Warner Bros Pictures saw the rich potential of the trilogy. The risky gambling with $300 million in the budget from New Line Cinema, pushes also the boundaries on how successful this risky project came to be. Based on J.R.R Tolkien’s high-fantasy epic novels, written during his youth, it cemented a literary milestone and a new dedication to a timeless classic trilogy.

The whole trilogy is the most successful fantasy series of all time. It depicts the importance of the need to stand up against evil and unify. The book details very well how the relationship between The Nine grows and evolves. Peter Jackson provided these relationships to deepen these characters more for its cinematic journey, between Sam and Frodo, Pippin and Merry. With a poetic linguistic approach, told and inspired by the source material, Jackson, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens understood the material enough to make it all believable for the audience. Even though they tried a similar method with the adaption of The Hobbit, a small child’s book chronicles Frodo’s uncle Bilbo and his adventure with 13 dwarfs.

In the prospect of all the awards and the success, it would be strange if HBO’s fantasy-epic Game of Thrones on 8 seasons didn’t take inspiration from Lord of the Rings films. 

As the story The War of the Ring concludes at the end of the third age, the upcoming prequel TV series (with five seasons) from Amazon and a budget of one billion dollars, the studio itself making a big effort to produce a hit show that overthrow every doubt and negative expectation.  As the TV-Serie continues its production before we can cherish it in a complete form, Amazon has prior revealed the official synopsis.

“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 series will be written and executive produced by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay. J.D. Payne will also be directing several episodes. The series has already been renewed for a second season. It has also been reported that the first two series will be shot back-to-back. The cast and crew are expected as well to show up in Queensland, where The Lord of the Rings – Trilogy initially held production. The cast includes Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Budge, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyrone Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, and Daniel Weyman. The production started in February, and which Deadline reported in mid-Jan 2021.

 Amazon Studios boss Jennifer Salke said:

“After undertaking an extensive global search, we are delighted finally to reveal the first group of brilliant performers who will take part in Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings series. These exceptionally talented women and men are more than just our actors: they are the newest members of an ever-expanding creative family that is now working tirelessly to bring Middle-earth to life anew for fans and audiences worldwide.”

The project that means to take the audience and long-time fans of Tolkien’s work is surely ambitious and only time will determine if it is worth its wait. In the end; J.R.R Tolkien’s legacy after he first published The Hobbit on September 19, 1937, he created something that all can appreciate and the community of fans evolves bigger. Just like Tolkien started the unique mythology with their first book, Peter Jackson provided a historic achievement with their cinematic masterpiece that ended back in 2003. Simpler time maybe, but this was a trilogy that defined cinema for a whole new generation.