Even in the world of prestige, massive-budget TV dramas, Amazon’s Lord Of The Rings show has been a project wrapped in secrecy. Expected to be the most expensive TV series of all time—and with the service’s hopes of bucking its eternal always-a-bridesmaid-never-an-Entwife status riding on its back—the retail giant has been incredibly tight-lipped about the series’ setting, basic plot, and even its casting. The few names that have slipped out have been relative unknowns, as well, with Midsommar’s Will Poulter being the highest profile casting to date.
Well, not anymore: Variety reports tonight that Poulter has officially pulled a Pennywise, dropping out of yet another much-anticipated adaptation project. It apparently comes down to scheduling issues—which is somewhat bizarre, given how long a lead time the 2021 series has ahead of it. In any case, we’ll no longer get to see Poulter acting like an elf—if elves are, in fact in this thing, because honestly: who knows—and will instead have to content ourselves with watching him learn to respect the trees in other, far more grisly contexts.
Despite the casting shake-up, Lord Of The Rings still stars Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Maxim Baldry, and Ema Horvath, and is aiming at a 2021 release. Probably.