Amazon’s “The Lord Of Rings” Series Description Hints At Returning Villain

The Lord of the Rings is one of the most beloved fantasy franchises of all-time. The J.R.R. Tolkien series is considered a forefather of modern speculative fiction and set the groundwork for many of the themes explored in the genre. The Peter Jackson-directed adaptations from the early 2000’s are considered a triumph of cinema and brought the series to a whole new generation of fans, breathing new life into the property.

Jackson would return to Middle-Earth with The Hobbit trilogy, which, though far less well-received that his first films in the realm, showed that there was still interest in Tolkien’s books, as each movie made nearly a billion at the box office. The next on-screen iteration, though, won’t be heading to the silver screen, but rather it will be a streaming series for Amazon Prime.

The show’s first two episodes are being directed by J.A. Bayona (Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom) and will feature Will Poulter, Robert Aramayo, and Maxim Baldry in starring roles. The story for the project has largely been kept under wraps, though. It is known that the plot will explore the second age of Middle-Earth, which was a time period well before the events of the films.

Now, Amazon has upped the ante, teasing some of the mythology that will be explored with an official series description, which you can read below:

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.

This description certainly hints that some well-known characters will reappear, though it’s not clear to whom Amazon is referring. The best guess is Sauron, the ultimate evil that was finally destroyed at the end of Return of the King, as the character first rose to prominence during the second age of Middle-Earth.

But there are also a plethora of other options. It’s even possible that a younger version of Saruman, who was played by the incomparable Christopher Lee in the Jackson-era films, though whether he’d be opening villainous is a stretch. Whatever the case, it’s exciting that Amazon is finally providing some details for their Lord of the Rings prequel series. What villain do you hope makes a return? Do you want Sauron or someone else? Let us know in the comments and follow us on Twitter @FilmIronic to never miss a thing.