Posted in: Amazon Studios, Lord of The Rings, Preview, streaming, TV | Tagged: amazon, J.R.R. Tokien, lord of the rings, preview, the rings of power

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Addresses Diversity Complaints

This Sunday, folks will have a lot more to look forward to than just the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl. Because that's when Amazon, J.D. Payne & Patrick McKay will unveil the first teaser for their upcoming prequel series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. But the team behind the massive undertaking isn't waiting until then to invite J.R.R. Tolkien fans behind the scenes for a better look at what they can expect. In an extensive first-look profile with Vanity Fair, one of the show's executive producers as well as a Tolkien scholar tackles an issue that's been bubbling around the fandom since the cast was first announced. And while the issue may be diversity, in this case, it involves fans who are angered that the cast is too diverse as compared to Peter Jackson's film trilogy.

"It felt only natural to us that an adaptation of [author J.R.R.] Tolkien's work would reflect what the world actually looks like," EP Lindsey Weber explained. "Tolkien is for everyone. His stories are about his fictional races doing their best work when they leave the isolation of their own cultures and come together." Tolkien scholar Mariana Rios Maldonado didn't mince words when pushing back on the critics, rhetorically asking, "Who are these people that feel so threatened or disgusted by the idea that an elf is Black or Latino or Asian?" Examples of the casting that some fans have taken issue with include Ismael Cruz Córdova as elf Arondir (the first person of color to play a Tolkien elf onscreen) and Sophia Nomvete as dwarven princess Disa (the franchise's first female dwarf and Nomvete is the first Black woman to portray a "LOTR" dwarf).

"This is a title that we imagine could live on the spine of a book next to Tolkien's other classics. The Rings of Power unites all the major stories of Middle-earth's Second Age: the forging of the rings, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, the epic tale of Númenor, and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men," said Payne & McKay when the title of the highly-anticipated series was first announced. "Until now, audiences have only seen on-screen the story of the One Ring – but before there was one, there were many… and we're excited to share the epic story of them all." Here's a look back at the massive set of character profile key art teasers that were released showing off not just the players but the rings in play as well:

With a new age beginning on September 2nd, begin your journey to Middle-earth with the following title announcement video (and series overview) for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power:

Amazon Studios' forthcoming series brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth's history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien's pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness.

Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.

The new stories will take place prior to J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Fellowship of the Ring" and look to focus on the "Second Age" – a time when the Rings of Power were first revealed. "J.R.R. Tolkien created one of the most extraordinary and inspiring stories of all time, and as a lifelong fan, it is an honor and a joy to join this amazing team. I can't wait to take audiences around the world to Middle-earth and have them discover the wonders of the Second Age, with a never-before-seen story," explained Bayona at the time the news was announced.

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, Daniel Weyman, Maxim Baldry, Lenny Henry, Peter Mullan, Lloyd Owen, Augustus Prew, Peter Tait, Benjamin Walker, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Simon Merrells, Maxim Baldry, Ian Blackburn, Kip Chapman, Anthony Crum, Maxine Cunliffe, Trystan Gravelle, Thusitha Jayasundera, Fabian McCallum, Geoff Morrell, Alex Tarrant, Leon Wadham, Sara Zwangobani, Charles Edwards, Will Fletcher, Amelie Child-Villiers, and Beau Cassidy star.

Amazon's Lord of the Rings series' creative team line-up includes Amazon's ex-genre head Sharon Tal Yguado as well as Lindsey Weber (10 Cloverfield Lane), Bruce Richmond (Game of Thrones), Gene Kelly (Boardwalk Empire), Tal Yguado, writer/executive producer Gennifer Hutchison (Breaking Bad); writer/executive producer Jason Cahill (The Sopranos), writer/executive producer Justin Doble (Stranger Things), consulting producer Stephany Folsom, producer Ron Ames, writer, and co-producer Helen Shang, and writing consultant Glenise Mullins. Bayona will executive produce alongside partner Belén Atienza. Payne and McKay are developing the series and serving as showrunners, with Bryan Cogman (Game of Thrones) serving as a consultant. Bayona is set to direct the first two episodes. Amazon Studios produces, in conjunction with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins, and New Line Cinema.

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