There’s no doubt that the upcoming Lord of the Rings TV series is one of the most hotly anticipated projects on the horizon, though Middle-earth alum Elijah Wood thinks there’s something really bizarre about Amazon’s new adaptation.
After hearing about the deal between Amazon Studios and the Tolkien Estate to develop a live-action show, fans had reservations about whether a remake of The Lord of the Rings was needed in the first place. The company soon announced, however, that they were actually intending to create a prequel series, set many hundreds of years before the events of Peter Jackson’s cinematic trilogy.
Indeed, the show will take place during the Second Age, potentially depicting Sauron’s rise to power, yet Amazon is still promoting it under the eponymous title. And apparently, diehard fans aren’t the only ones who have an issue with this approach.
Recently, Wood (who played Frodo Baggins in Jackson’s films) appeared alongside Daniel Radcliffe for the latest issue of Empire Magazine to chat about 20 years of Lord Of The Rings and Harry Potter. Speaking about the new series, here’s what the star had to say about its name:
“They’re calling it ‘The Lord of the Rings,’ but I think that’s slightly misleading. From what I understand, the material they are working on exists chronologically further back in history in the lore of Lord of the Rings or Middle-earth than any characters represented in Lord of the Rings. It sounds more Silmarillion era. Not to get nerdy, but it’s the Second Age of Middle-earth.”
Of course, the most obvious answer is that the streaming juggernaut wants people to tune in and watch the show, which is fair enough. As such, using a lesser-known alias or title doesn’t make a lot of sense from a marketing standpoint. I mean, barring Tolkienists and other passionate fans, many folks didn’t even bother with reading The Silmarillion.
Hopefully, though, that’ll soon change now that The Lord of the Rings is on its way, and Middle-earth’s ancient history will soon become more appealing and relatable to general audiences.