Amazon has revealed the title of its long-anticipated, extremely expensive, Lord Of The Rings series. The show, set to debut this September on Prime Video, will be called Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power.
In case your knowledge of LOTR-lore is a little rusty, the title refers to the other rings, the ones that Frodo did not throw into Mordor. Amazon released a very fancy title announcements video that also helps piece it together.
The video features a real blacksmith “physically forging” the title in a blacksmith’s foundry. Line from Tolkein’s “Ring Verse” are read in voiceover:
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
“This is a title that we imagine could live on the spine of a book next to J.R.R. Tolkien’s other classics. The Rings Of Power unites all the major stories of Middle-earth’s Second Age: the forging of the rings, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, the epic tale of Númenor, and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men,” showrunners J.D. Payne & Patrick McKay explained in a statement. “Until now, audiences have only seen on-screen the story of the One Ring — but before there was one, there were many… and we’re excited to share the epic story of them all.”
The show is set a thousand years before Tolkein’s original series, which served as the source material for Peter Jackson’s iconic trilogy of films. Jackson’s second attempt at a LOTR series—the three Hobbit movies—was much less successful.
Season one of The Rings Of Power reportedly cost $465 million, with Amazon planning to ultimately release five seasons. The announced cast is enormous, but largely made up of unknown actors.
The show will debut worldwide on Sept. 2, with new episodes released weekly. That’s enough time for you to finally read The Silmarillion.