Amazon's 'Lord Of The Rings' TV Series Loses Star Will Poulter

The Lord of the Rings giveth, The Lord of the Rings taketh away. Will Poulter, seen recently stealing the show in Midsommar, was named as a star of the upcoming Lord of the Ring TV series – but that's no longer happening. To be fair, Amazon never confirmed Poulter's casting. But according to reports, Poulter really was in talks to join the Lord of the Rings TV series cast but has since dropped out due to scheduling conflicts.

If you were hoping to see Will Poulter slap on some elf ears or a cape, we have some bad news. Deadline says he's no longer part of the Lord of the Rings TV series cast due to scheduling conflicts. As is the case with almost everything about this show, we have no idea what role Poulter would've played. In any case, the show now has to find someone new.

I'll confess that I wasn't sold on Poulter as an actor until this year, when I saw him in Midsommar. He's so consistently funny as a s***-talking ugly American that I immediately wanted to see him in more things. Would he have worked in a Lord of the Rings show? Without knowing much about the series it's hard to say, but sure, probably!

Amazon already announced that they were moving forward with a second season of the show, even though season 1 hasn't started shooting yet. The plan is to shoot two episodes and then go on a 4-5 month hiatus to make sure everything is working, and to plan out season 2. Per Deadline, this 4-5 month delay is what got in the way of Poulter's schedule due to other commitments.

The series will focus on "previously unexplored stories based on J.R.R. Tolkien's original writings." The show is set during the 3,441-year period, known as the Age of Númenor, or the Second Age, long before the events of The Fellowship of The Ring. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom director J.A. Bayona is helming the first two episodes of the show.

No release date has been set yet, but the Lord of the Rings TV series is expected to arrive on Amazon in 2021.