Even though we’ve been talking about the “Lord of the Rings” TV series coming to Amazon sometime in the future for years now, we still don’t really have much of a clue what the show is actually going to be about. What we do know is that it supposedly takes place during The Second Age and some actors have signed on to star. Oh, and we know that Will Poulter was supposed to be the lead but had to step aside at the last minute. And now, thanks to a new interview, the actor explained his departure.
Speaking to NME, Poulter shed some light on why he left Middle-earth and won’t be appearing in the upcoming “Lord of the Rings” TV series. Those hoping for some big dramatic revelation are likely going to be disappointed, as it appears the casting snafu is the result of some good ol’ fashioned scheduling conflicts.
“Unfortunately, there’s no particularly interesting story, other than the fact that there was a last-minute change to the schedule, which meant that there was a clash for me and I was unable to do it,” Poulter said. “I have utmost respect for everyone involved in that project. And I have no doubt it’s going to be incredible.”
Obviously, even though he’s not starring in the series, Poulter has a better idea of what we can expect in ‘Rings’ than the fans do, at this point. So, it’s encouraging to hear him talk about how he believes the show will be “incredible.” Though, it’s unlikely that he’d go out of his way to trash the series and call it terrible publicly. So, take that as you want.
That being said, there’s a lot of hype and anticipation for “Lord of the Rings,” as Amazon has reportedly invested nearly $1 billion to bring the popular franchise to the small screen. And though it’s not explicitly tied to Peter Jackson’s two trilogies of films, the fact that the show is shooting in New Zealand and is trying to use Jackson as guidance should be enough to give fans some hope that Amazon is going to do it right.
We still don’t have a release date set for the series, but the COVID-19 pandemic has all but guaranteed a late-2021 launch date or perhaps even further away. We’ll just have to wait and see.