Amazon, Warner Bros in Talks for LOTR Series Adaptation: Variety

Perhaps the technique is some special Elven discipline. Or maybe it's the equivalent of turning your pistol sideways to shoot.

Well this trailer gives us some explicit plot points, it only took until a week and a half before release.

Quite modern too, that music. Surely that's not from the show itself?

I have a suspicion that Galadriel will not be as likeable as the showrunners think she will. Perhaps I am jaded from over-exposure to promotional material, but the suspicion is growing...

I think ambitious passionate young women are lovely. But people won't like her because she's not Galadriel.

Just watched the trailer. The music is terrible, and the dialogue so hammy it stinks of pig.

That dude is not an Elf. he looks like someone from Miami Vice.

What on earth is happening with the trailer saying that Galadriel's brother died "hunting for Sauron".

Aegnor and Angrod died in the Dagor Bragollach, perishing in the sudden flames. And Finrod died while questing to recover the Silmaril with Beren.
Isn't it good enough for the showrunners that Finrod was killed by one of Sauron's werewolves in Sauron's dungeon?

Both Amazon and Warner Bros were in talks.- Forest

{{ Ooh to have been a fly on the wall in that room...with a gun!  }}

Isn't it good enough for the showrunners that Finrod was killed by one of Sauron's werewolves in Sauron's dungeon? - Forest

{{ I think we are going to get the werewolf bit still, in some fashion. Looking at his body when would-be Galadriel is talking vengeance pish over it, there are clear scar marks that look like claw marks.
However had he died where he does in the book, in the dungeons, then they shouldnt have the body for Galadriel to do her 'Ill become a warrior and swear vengeance' shite over.  

So my stab at it is- we will see the battle, it will be minus the Beren/Luthien stuff to save confusion and focus on him instead, the werewolf will kill him but on the battlefield, allowing for his body to be saved and taken away from the battlefield by someone- probably bloody Galadriel herself who should be far away safely living with Thingol and Melian at this point (and surely for a character like Galadriel if you have to fill in gaps and make stuff up focusing on her time with Melian and their relationship would be more interesting and in keeping with books and characters). This of couse would screw the Beren stroy as he wouldnt have been around to help out onthe whole silmaril thing- but I doubt they care, seems clear they are using him merely as a spur for Galadriel to become a warrior and go on an 'arc' to becoming as she is in the 3rd Age.}}

If they'd be honest and say "inspired by Tolkien" instead of "based on Tolkien" or "honoring Tolkien's vision" I'd be okay, you kids go off and have fun. Just don't put on the mantle of Tolkien.

But how can they work so hard on getting pronunciation right and not even come close to getting the story right? I think I'm annoyed because they make it so difficult to ignore as pure stupid ignorance, or even lack of interest in getting things right. They abandoned that excuse long ago.

They abandoned that excuse long ago.- Halfy

{{ It was really screwed for me when they said they had to compress the time line because otherwise all their human characters would have to change as theyd be dying off all the time.
But they always knew they had 5 series or whatever it is, there is no reason you couldnt have the elves and very long lived Numenoreons as through characters to follow, and the humans following bloodlines down generations, with say moving ahead to a next generation every series. It has been done successfully before in many formats, tv included.
It was a terrbile and weak excuse and I knew then there was no way to make that work without deeply altering what was written. }}

I've deliberately avoided watching any of the trailer since the first teaser and haven't kept up to date with any of the rumours or news for weeks, so right now I'm feeling cautiously intrigued by the show?

Still not sure if I'll bother watching it, but I'm now very much in the mindset of treating it as its own stand alone fantasty story not canon to the books or films...the books will always be dear to my heart but after 6 films by PJ and countless video games inspired by the them I'm intrigued to see a completely different production team explore their vision of Middle-earth...it may be brilliant or terrible (most likely somewhere in between) but at the very least I hope it will suceed enough to be judged (or slated) on its own merits/ideas rather than compared to the books it isn't really adapting at all.

Oh it won't have to be successful to be judged on its own merits. Quite the contrary

Ye gods, just read a story on Morfydd Clarke's Galadriel, which ended with this:

The series features many other beloved characters from J.R.R. Tolkien's Second Age, including Prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur), Disa (Sophia Nomvete) and Nori Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh)

I see no point in linking to such a clueless writer.

boy oh boy

Beloved characters from the second age?

Who the fuck is Disa? I assume the third one is a hobbit of some description?

Yes. Someone let a totally clueless reporter run about rampant assuming that everyone Amazon put in was an actual character Tolkien created. Because Amazon said they were basing things on Tolkien, so why the hell doubt they are giving us what we wanted?

By the by, should we change the title of this section of the forum?

A billion dollar budget and they can't even find a few score extras?

What? no Mongolians and Sudanese? they are slipping.

Take it as you will.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/young-ned-stark-elrond-rings-222035731.html

He certainly made a good young Ned Stark.

Lenny fucking Henry contradicting himself by saying this is so great because it represents the modern world but at the same time saying people watch it to escape the modern world....

Which is it Mr Henry.

First episode is apparently ready to watch. I am not going to bother unless some reports come out that it isn't as shit as I am expecting.

And then some fucking cretin on Sky News saying that the books were written by men for men and 'for the geeks.' Apparently Amazon have made these stories 'accessible' for all.

Are these people actually real?

I tried going to Amazon last night and there were placeholders for it, but it just jumped to previews. I'll try again tonight, because on friday I'll be on travel until monday night. Will be really interesting to come back to this place 3 days after the shit hits the fans, if you take my meaning.

It's saying that it's available September 1st now. What happened to Friday the 2nd?

Haha, I misread Lance's phrase. "Apparently Amazon have made these stories 'accessible' for all."

So Amazon DID premiere the first episode in London yesterday, with an embargo on reviews until today, don't know what time. I expect to be reading them before bedtime tonight.

So word is that it will premiere 9 pm US eastern time. I'll already be on the road by then, but I'm sure Forrest will give an honest reaction, and hopefully Eldy will pop in as well?

Meanwhile we've got some tweets from people who did see it Wednesday: https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/rings-of-power-first-reactions-lord-of-the-rings-1235348173/

To me the first one is telling, and is the only one that seems at all critical.

I've seen #RingsofPower and I can say for certain you're in for a treat. Big, bold, and beautiful to behold. TBD if it'll sit alongside Jackson's films or deserve Tolkien's name, but for now it's all the maximalist pizazz one might expect from a historically expensive production.