No one knows Middle-earth quite like Peter Jackson does, so it’s not hard to see why Amazon Studios was interested in roping the Kiwi director in for their lavish Lord of the Rings TV series.
The award winning filmmaker has already gone on record though to say that he’s happy that he’s no longer tied up with Middle-earth and all of its many characters and storylines. And, frankly, after putting together six fantasy blockbusters based on Tolkien’s work, you can hardly blame him.
But even without Jackson’s involvement, Amazon has still managed to assemble quite an impressive creative team for the series, from Game of Thrones producers and writers to folks who worked on major motion pictures like The Last Jedi and The Aviator. Suffice it to say, it’s an impressive roster of talent, and you can find the complete list below.
- Executive Producers: Lindsey Weber (10 Cloverfield Lane), Gene Kelly(Boardwalk Empire), Bruce Richmond (Game of Thrones), and Sharon Tal Yguado, former head of genre at Amazon Studios.
- Writer/EPs: Gennifer Hutchison (Breaking Bad), Jason Cahill (The Sopranos), and Justin Doble (Stranger Things)
- Consulting Producers: Bryan Cogman (Game of Thrones) and Stephany Folson(Toy Story 4)
- Producer: Ron Ames (The Aviator)
- Writer/Producer: Helen Shang (Hannibal)
- Writing Consultant: Glenise Mullins (Terminator Genysis)
- Costume Designer: Kate Hawley (Suicide Squad)
- Production Designer: Rick Heinrichs (The Last Jedi)
- Visual Effects Supervisor: Jason Smith (Bumblebee)
- Tolkien Scholar: Tom Shippey (“J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century”)
- Concept Artist: John Howe (Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings Trilogy)
Of course, we already know that the company has tapped Juan Antonio (J.A.) Bayona to helm the first two episodes of the series, who’s coming off some impressive work behind the camera on Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, which went on to gross over $1.3 billion. Casting and plot details, meanwhile, still remain scarce, but we have been starting to learn a little bit about what’s in store.
For one, we know that the show won’t be a simple retread of already-published works. Instead, Amazon’s series is actually set before the events of The Lord of the Rings, which means that it’ll be a prequel and will have a lot of creative freedom to introduce exciting new characters and storylines.
Unfortunately, it’s going to be another couple of years before it all comes together, but in the meantime, it’s nice to see such an incredible team of talent all signed on for the project and as soon as we learn more, we’ll be sure to let you know.
