Amazon To Spend $1 Billion On The Lord Of The Rings TV Series

Amazon’s quest to resurrect The Lord of the Rings will begin with a multi-season TV series.

Rooted in Middle-earth, the pitch itself is said to be similar to Game of Thrones in terms of scale and scope, and will explore new storylines preceding J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring. Both Netflix and HBO had been approached by the Tolkien estate in the past, but it was ultimately Amazon that shelled out close to $250 million for LotR‘s global rights, which is said to include the possibility of an additional spinoff. Like we alluded to before, this has the potential to become a Game of Thrones-level franchise for Amazon Studios.

Headed up by the company’s CEO Jeff Bezos, no details were disclosed at the time of writing, but that hasn’t stopped industry insiders from labeling the record-setting deal as “insane,” as that alleged $250 million price tag doesn’t account for the sky-high expenses that often come hand-in-hand with a big-budget fantasy series. Once you factor everything else in, it’s looking like the studio may end up spending $1 billion to bring Tolkien’s saga to life on the small screen. Yes, $1 billion.

A new report from THR breaks it all down, confirming that the show will run for five seasons with an option to do a spinoff, too.

“Amazon’s megadeal for The Lord of the Rings is believed to be for five seasons, plus a potential spinoff, with insiders putting the price tag for global rights at around $250 million. Once production budgets, casting, writers, producers and visual effects are factored in, the total for the Rings series, which will be set in Middle-earth and explore storylines preceding The Fellowship of the Ring, could hit $1 billion.”

Of course, The Lord of the Rings isn’t the only big-name Hollywood blockbuster bound for television; late last week, we caught wind that Disney had drawn up plans for a live-action Star Wars TV series for 2019. But after three unforgettable fantasy flicks, coupled with Peter Jackson’s bloated Hobbit trilogy, is there still an appetite for Middle-earth? As always, you can chime in with your own thoughts, comments and predictions via the usual place.