Amazon reveals incredible creative team behind Lord of the Rings TV series

Amazon has big plans for its Lord of the Rings TV show which they reportedly bought the rights for around 250 million. An amount which automatically, without even starting any production work on the series (which is going to be expensive in itself, reportedly around $1 billion mark), already made it one of the most expensive shows in history.

That’s a lot of money for a series that they are hoping not only turns into the next Game of Thrones-level hit but possibly even exceeds it because of the incredible popularity of J.R.R Tolkien’s rich world. However if you’re going to spend that kind of money on a series you’re going to want to make sure it gets done right and so Amazon has gone out of their way to ensure that some of the best creative minds in the business are working on this show, the names of whom they have now revealed in a new video on Twitter:

So, if you don’t have the time to watch the short video or if these names draw only blank stares, I’ve outlined all of them below. The list doesn’t start off too impressively with JD Payne and Patrick McKay announced as showrunners.

The pair don’t have credentials to get excited about other than writing the original draft of Star Trek Beyond before it was replaced with Simon Pegg’s script. However, joining them on the writers side are a host of the industry’s best including Gennifer Hutchinson (Better Call Saul, Breaking Bad, The X-Files), Helen Shang (Hannibal, Hawaii Five-0), Jason Cahill (Fringe, NYPD Blue, The Sopranos), Glenise Mullins (Kingdom, Terminator Genysis), Justin Doble (Almost Human, Stranger Things), Bryan Cogman (Game of Thrones), and Stephany Folsom (Toy Story 4).

J.A. Bayona (The Impossible, A Monster Calls, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) is set to direct the first two episodes of the series to hopefully set the tone for the rest to follow. Belén Atienza (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Pan’s Labyrinth), Bruce Richmond (Game of Thrones, Westworld), Gene Kelly (Boardwalk Empire, The Pacific), and Lindsey Weber (Star Trek Beyond) are all serving as executive producers. Ron Ames (Avengers: Age of Ultron, The Aviator) will act as a co-producer, Kate Hawley (Suicide Squad) as a costume designer, Rick Heinrichs (Star Wars: The Last Jedi) will be production designer, and Jason Smith (The Avengers) the visual effects supervisor.

The actors who play key roles may be the obvious ones likely to draw the biggest attention, but it is this collection of people above that will really determine if the show is a success or not. And with a diverse set of people with a variety of experiences and history, its likely that – from a production perspective – this show is going to look every bit like the $1 billion Amazon is reportedly going to spend on it.

Last Updated: July 29, 2019