For an adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s acclaimed and incredibly rich fantasy saga, it only makes sense that The Lord of the Rings TV show is moving along at a slow and steady pace.
From what we understand, it’ll be a multi-season revival of the legendary IP, one which is coming to us courtesy of Amazon Studios – the online retail giant apparently shelled out an incredible amount of money in order to acquire TV rights to what’s without a doubt one of the biggest franchises in entertainment.
For Jennifer Salke, recently-appointed boss of Amazon Studios, the small-screen adaptation is overflowing with potential, as it gives the Powers That Be the chance to breath new life into The Lord of the Rings – with or without Peter Jackson’s involvement. But what do the cast of Jackson’s beloved trilogy think of this new adaptation?
Well, we’ve already heard from a few of them, and now, Elijah Wood has spoken up on it, stating that he think’s it’s crazy that $1 billion is being spent to produce it. “That’s crazy to me,” said the actor, before continuing on to explain that without the films he starred in, the studio wouldn’t have shelled out that much money to adapt the novels.
“That wouldn’t have happened back then because the Tolkien estate didn’t know what they had as much as they do now,” Wood said. “It’s all a product of the world they live in. They know now what they have, they know how lucrative it is.”
Of course, Peter Jackson’s trilogy had a considerable budget, too, but according to Wood, it never felt like they were making big blockbusters.
“The thing that was wild about Lord of the Rings was that it felt like an independent movie, made by [Warner Bros. subsidiary] New Line in New Zealand,” Wood said. “It was kind of tucked away. If that movie was made now, it would be under very different circumstances and a much larger machine. That doesn’t mean it can’t have soul. It’s just harder to do that.”
Finally, he said that he doesn’t know what Amazon has planned for their TV series, but is definitely interested in checking it out.
“We have no idea what this is going to be like, and it could be great,” Wood said. “Maybe they’ll go to New Zealand and shoot a bit there for visual continuity. Who knows? Lord of the Rings just felt like a movie made by this small cottage industry out of New Zealand that had never made anything on that scale before. It’s a completely untested thing. But I’ll be watching. I’m curious.”
As are we, Elijah, as are we. And though few details are currently available on Amazon’s grand plans for The Lord of the Rings, something tells us it’ll have no problem filling that Game of Thrones-sized hole that’s about to be left in our viewing schedules.