When it was announced that Amazon was developing a live-action TV series based on “The Lord of the Rings,” fans were elated. But there were a ton of questions. Is this a continuation or expansion of the already-existing world created by Peter Jackson? Will the series use various other Tolkien Middle-earth writings, such as “The Silmarillion,” for inspiration when crafting new stories? Well, as the series approaches its debut later this year, we’re starting to get answers. And it’s far more complicated than fans might initially think.
Speaking to Vanity Fair, series showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay broke down their inspiration when crafting “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” and what sort of source material they’re legally able to pull from.
To answer the first question, from above, legally, the showrunners can’t say that ‘Rings of Power’ exists side-by-side with Peter Jacksons’ ‘Rings’ films. So, while his work is an inspiration, it’s not the only inspiration for the series.
“The universe that this show wants to be in is Tolkien’s—and that’s an umbrella over Peter’s films—and Led Zeppelin, John Howe’s paintings, and ‘The Hobbit’ cartoon,” McKay said.
As for how the duo came up with the story for ‘Rings of Power,’ considering it’s telling the story of The Second Age, which exists way before the events of the original trilogy of novels, it’s a bit tricky. You see, Payne and McKay only have the main novels as official source material and can’t pull from the other writings from Tolkien.
“We have the rights solely to ‘The Fellowship of the Ring,’ ‘The Two Towers,’ ‘The Return of the King,’ the appendices, and ‘The Hobbit,’” Payne revealed. “And that is it. We do not have the rights to ‘The Silmarillion,’ ‘Unfinished Tales,’ ‘The History of Middle-Earth,’ or any of those other books.”
“There’s a version of everything we need for the Second Age in the books we have the rights to,” McKay added. “As long as we’re painting within those lines and not egregiously contradicting something we don’t have the rights to, there’s a lot of leeway and room to dramatize and tell some of the best stories that [Tolkien] ever came up with.”
So, for those wondering why the duo isn’t just pulling from “The Silmarillion,” that’s your answer. So, instead of looking at “Rings of Power” as a companion piece to “The Lord of the Rings” films from Peter Jackson, it’s more like the relationship between the “Hannibal” TV series and “The Silence of the Lambs” films. Same-same…but also different.
“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” debuts on Amazon Prime Video on September 2.