Despite a huge budget, an early order for a second season, and the name-recognition as being adapted from the work of Tolkien, it appears that the highly-anticipated “Lord of the Rings” TV series that Amazon is releasing has hit a speed bump. As everything seemed to be moving forward, full steam ahead, for a productive 2020, the fantasy series is going to need to find a new star, as Will Poulter is apparently not going to be around for the production.
READ MORE: Will Poulter Joins Amazon’s ‘Lord Of The Rings’ Series In A Lead Role
According to Variety, Will Poulter, who was recently seen in films like “Bandersnatch” and “Midsommar,” has had to pull out of the “Lord of the Rings” TV series due to the dreaded scheduling conflicts. Of course, no other details were given, specifically as to which projects might be conflicting, but now, Amazon has to go back and find a new star for its upcoming series.
Not much is known about “Lord of the Rings,” other than it’s a prequel that is supposedly set well before the events of Tolkien’s classic story, in an era called the Second Age. During the time period that the series is said to take place, the evil Sauron is launching his first attempt to acquire the titular jewelry and take over all of Middle-earth.
Poulter was supposed to star alongside previously-announced cast members that include Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Maxim Baldry, and Ema Horvath. “Lord of the Rings” is being written and showrun by the duo of JD Payne and Patrick McKay. They’re joined by producer Byran Cogman, who was brought on as a consultant after his time working on HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” JA Bayona has been signed on to direct multiple episodes of the series, including the pilot.
Season 1 of “Lord of the Rings” is expected to begin production in 2020, with the writers already said to be working on Season 2. We’ll likely see the first episodes of Amazon’s series sometime in 2021.