Amazon Studios has officially renewed its high-profile Lord of the Rings television show for a second season before the series has even premiered, Deadline reports. At present, the television series is preparing to enter pre-production on location for its highly-anticipated first season. The Inquisitr previously reported that the fantasy series will shoot in New Zealand.
However, in light of the early renewal, fans may have to wait a little longer for an official premiere date.
To accommodate more planning time for their writers, Deadline states that Amazon will put the series’ production on a 4.5-month-long hiatus after the first two episodes have completed filming. The studio wants to ensure that there are no conflicts in storylines between the direction of Season 1 and 2 by allowing the writers to re-group early in production.
Nothing about this is out of the ordinary, or a sign that fans should worry. Since the series received a straight-to-series order, it will skip the traditional pilot approval process. Instead, the first two episodes will be used to evaluate the series and decide what needs improvement. Deadline claims that director Peter Jackson also used this tactic while making the film series.
“That was a strategy used by Peter Jackson in shooting his blockbuster LOTR movie trilogy, also in New Zealand. That is considered a sensible approach for big-budget productions like LOTR as it helps find efficiencies because every filming ramp-up is expensive.”
Amazon purchased the rights to J.R.R. Tolkein’s works back in 2017 as part of a massive multi-million dollar deal. The initial contract required the streaming service to make a multi-season commitment to the project, so the renewal is not too much of a surprise.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them, In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. #LOTRonPrime pic.twitter.com/7TuQh7gRPD
— The Lord of the Rings on Prime (@LOTRonPrime) March 7, 2019
Nonetheless, it is still exciting and a great relief to fans worried about the show’s future, considering it has no current air date in sight.
People who love the iconic franchise can rest easy knowing they don’t have to fret about a potential sudden cancelation for a while, at least. Many of them have taken to social media to express their excitement over the renewal news.
“I mean you pay 260 million for the rights it better be 6 seasons,” expressed one user.
“That’s what I’m Tolkien about,” joked another fan.
“To say I’m excited would be an understatement,” remarked a third person.
Some users are understandably a little confused that the show has been renewed for a second season when no trailer for the first season has been released.
“What do mean season 2???? There’s a season 1????” asked one perplexed user.
We may not know when Amazon’s series will debut, but we do know that the series will take place before the events of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.