Amazon’s Lord of the Rings TV series adds 20 new cast members

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Amazon Studios has confirmed a whopping total of 20 new cast members for its upcoming TV series based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the RIngs. Production on the series resumed in September after being interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. New additions to the cast include: Lenny Henry, Ozark and Westworld‘s Peter Mullan, Lloyd Owen (You, Me and the Apocalypse), Augustus Prew (CBS’s Pure Genius), The LOTR movie franchise’s Peter Tait, Benjamin Walker (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Arrow, Power) and Simon Merrells (Spartacus: War of the Damned) are among the new additions, as well as Maxim Baldry, Ian Blackburn, Kip Chapman, Anthony Crum, Maxine Cunliffe, Trystan Gravelle, Thusitha Jayasundera, Fabian McCallum, Geoff Morrell, Alex Tarrant, Leon Wadham, and Sara Zwangobani.

Previously announced cast members include: Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Budge, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, and Daniel Weyman.

No details as to who any of the aforementioned stars will be playing are available at this time, with the exception of Owen, who is believed to be stepping into the role of Loda, an earthly man.

“The world that J.R.R. Tolkien created is epic, diverse, and filled with heart,” said series’ executive producers/showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay. “These extraordinarily talented performers, hailing from across the globe, represent the culmination of a multi-year search to find brilliant and unique artists to bring that world to life anew. The international cast of Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings series is more than just an ensemble. It is a family. We are thrilled to welcome each of them to Middle-earth.”

Amazon Studios has tapped THE ORPHANAGE and JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM helmer J.A. Bayona to direct the first two episodes of their upcoming series based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Bayona will be the first to tackle Tolkien's prolific high-fantasy epic after Peter Jackson delivered six films set in the author's world of wizards, elves, and Hobbits who venture far beyond the comfort of their Shire to protect the one ring that rules them all. Set in Middle Earth, the TV series will explore new stories and characters from before the events of Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring.

What do you suspect Amazon's LOTR series will be like. Will it be as elaborate as Jackson's film adaptations? Are you excited to meet a raft of new characters from Tolkien's imaginative universe? Do you think this will be Amazon's answer to HBO's Game of Thrones? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.