Lord Of The Rings Season 1: Release Date, Cast And More

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Who's ready to take a trip back to Middle-earth? The road might go ever on and on, but apparently all roads lead back to Amazon's The Lord of the Rings series, which (probably) won't actually be called that. Fans have been kept mostly in the dark about this mysterious show and the precise details about its plot, but filming for the wildly expensive first season has finally commenced and the dam of information is finally bursting. Read on to learn everything you need to know about the inaugural season of the upcoming series.

Thanks to the recent production announcement celebrating the end of principle photography, we now have an official premiere date: September 2, 2022. As an Amazon production, the show will debut exclusively on the company's streaming service, Amazon Prime Video, and release new episodes from week to week. Sorry binge-watchers, but you'll have to be patient with this one.

The new Amazon series will borrow heavily from the appendices located at the end of the Return of the King novel, as well as The Silmarillion — writer J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium of sorts, that details significant historical events from his fictional world. It will take place thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, hence the title probably due to be called something else.

Here's the synopsis:

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.

Creators J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay (both are co-writers of Star Trek Beyond) have both been tabbed as co-showrunners to oversee the entire production. Spanish filmmaker J.A. Bayona (The Orphanage, A Monster Calls, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) will direct the first two episodes, to be followed in some order by television directors Charlotte Brändström (The Witcher, Jupiter's Legacy) and Wayne Yip (Doctor Who, Preacher), and possibly others still yet to be announced.

The writer's room includes Jason Cahill (The Sopranos, Halt and Catch Fire), Justin Doble (Stranger Things), and Gennifer Hutcherson (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul).

The sprawling ensemble is mostly made up of newcomers and fresh faces, making it all the easier to disappear into the fantasy world. The cast will be led by Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Maxim Baldry, Nazanin Boniadi, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Charles Edwards, Trystan Gravelle, Sir Lenny Henry, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Lloyd Owen, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, Leon Wadham, Benjamin Walker, Daniel Weyman, and Sara Zwangobani.

Don't be hasty. We just received our very first look at the series through a hint-filled image, but no actual footage is forthcoming just yet. We're still a year away from release, however, leaving plenty of time to ramp up the marketing and get audiences truly excited for a return to Middle-earth.