While Amazon’s television prequel adaptation of The Lord Of The Rings, set in the monumental-movie-inspiring mythology of J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels, is still lacking in specific details other than its time setting, the show has just named another headliner in Will Poulter.
Poulter, an English actor who’s seen his star steadily rise in the last few years, has been cast to co-star on the series, reports Variety. While details on Poulter’s character were not yet provided, he will join recently-cast Aussie actress Markella Kavenagh, who was revealed as the show’s co-star and first cast member back in July. Sources told the trade that Kavenagh’s character is named “Tyra,” though this has yet to be confirmed.
While Poulter has seen no shortage of high-profile film roles, this co-starring slot on The Lord Of The Rings will likely stand as his biggest part yet. That’s saying something, since his big screen CV consists of films like director Ari Aster’s recent horror film, Midsommar, a role reprisal in Maze Runner: The Death Cure, Kathryn Bigelow-directed crime drama Detroit, director David Michod’s Brad Pitt-headlined Netflix film, War Machine, hit ensemble comedy We’re The Millers and, perhaps most prominently, 2015’s The Revenant, which went on to reap Oscar glory for director Alejandro G. Iñárritu, star Leonardo DiCaprio and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki. Additionally, Poulter was initially cast as Stephen King’s sewer-dwelling kid-grabbing clown, Pennywise, in a previous iteration of the current It reboot films; a role that, of course, ultimately went to Bill Skarsgard.
The series, which, without a formal title to cite, is still best referred to as The Lord Of The Rings, is confirmed to take place in the Second Age of Middle Earth, thousands of years before the events of Tolkien’s main novels, and, based on that fact, is expected to chronicle the first war over the One Ring, famously depicted onscreen in the prologue to The Fellowship Of The Ring, in which Sauron – under the false pretense of beneficence – inveigled the kingdoms of Middle Earth across races to forge rings of power that endowed leaders with the strength and will to govern their respective peoples. However, to put things in modern terms, Sauron had secret admin privileges to Rings system, forging the Ring of Power, which controlled all of the Rings, designed to cause discord and devastation across Middle Earth.
Showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay will be joined on The Lord Of The Rings series by an array of behind-the-scenes talent, notably Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom director J.A. Bayona, and will enjoy the benefit of consultation from key Game Of Thrones writer/producer Bryan Cogman.
There’s currently no release date to cite for Amazon’s The Lord Of The Rings, but we will certainly keep on top that and other major developments as the news arrives!
