You’ve undoubtedly read Vanity Fair article “Amazon’s Lord of the Rings Series Rises: Inside The Rings of Power” by Anthony Breznican and Joanna Robinson.
If you haven’t, go here now and ogle the series of stunning production photos and get some hints as to what’s in store for us. And then, once you have, hurry back and read on because a selection of our staffers have given their candid impressions on the Vanity Fair revelations.
Quick note: Your first article on Vanity Fair is free to read so you can digest everything in full — there’s no catch. But if you like what you read, and want to support good journalism, a yearly sub is only $15.
Staffer JPB
Great literature stands on its own merits. But there is so much from Tolkien that is not known by the wider audience, many of whom think Middle-earth is just a story about brave little Hobbits who save the world at the end of the Third Age. The bulk of Tolkien’s lesser-known output concerns the First age, with only cursory information ever written for most of the Second.
Amazon purchased rights to create stories in this little-explored Second Age. By necessity, they need to create storylines and characters from whole cloth. I look forward to seeing these new tales play out. My only personal criteria in judging them are these three:
First, will the series get more people to read the pre-Third Age tales by Tolkien? Second, will it increase the desire of the general public to see adaptations of tales from the First Age? Third, will I smile when I watch it, and want more?
Only the completed first season, indeed, only the completed series will answer these questions. Not photos. Not trailers. I wait, with the same nervous but excited anticipation that I had for the early 2000s Rings trilogy.
Staffer WeeTanya
The collected fragments of JRRT’s imagination pre-LOTR are scattered and changeable to begin with. To me, this means that any work based on these notes can deviate. Despite Christopher’s attempts to document, footnote, and caveat every single scrap of his father’s writing, the one thing Christopher underlines is that it’s clear that not even Tolkien had one solid timeline in mind for his characters. There is no one, true canon, here.
I am willing therefore to hold off on judgement before viewing the Amazon interpretation of his characters and world. The Vanity Fair article and other evidence indicates that we’ll see a compressed Second age story — from Galadriel adrift in the Sundering Sea after Morgoth’s capture ends the First Age (sure, why not?), all the way through 3441 years to the day Isildur cuts the ring from Sauron’s finger.
Galadriel’s timeline in the Second Age differs depending upon whether you take into account the pre-1960s appendices or the post-1960s one, and her timeline obviously differs in various versions of the notes collected by Christopher.
My initial reaction was to wonder where Celeborn and young Celebrían (born in SA 300) are, because they should be by Galadriel’s side at various points in the Second Age. But given the fact that Galadriel’s journey around Middle-earth looks like a confused yarn tangle as she moves from Lindon to Eregion to Imladris to Dol Amroth to Imladris again… OK sure she probably has some time to float around in the Sundering Sea alone to wreak vengeance upon Morgoth’s minions.
Why not? She really isn’t with Celeborn for some of the time in the Second Age, so I will stop being fussed by it.
I am very excited to see how Amazon will handle the Aulendil plot, where handsome “pupil of Aule” Sauron meets Galadriel and attempts to win her trust before he wiggles into Celebrimbor’s good graces and creates the Rings…
And finally, Elves are imaginary, my friends.
Staffer Garfeimao
The article confirms that Amazon does not have any rights to the Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, Histories of Middle-earth, or any other works outside of the Lord of the Rings and its appendices and the Hobbit. So they are crafting a coherent story from what essentially is a bunch of outlines, brief references, etc. The only way to do that is to create non-canon characters to interact with canon characters in order to move the story forward. The Tolkien Estate has said that Historic events that are known can’t be changed, but the showrunners will be able to decide for themselves how much or how little time they spend on some events over others.
I’m not as concerned about the time compression, because I don’t believe they are compressing the whole of the Second Age. After all, the story is called The Rings of Power, so the story should just be focusing on Sauron, in disguise, shopping the notion of collaborating to make magical rings, being denied here and accepted there, the creation of those rings and possibly the distribution of them, ending with the creation of the One Ring. This event does not encompass the entirety of the Second Age, so less compression than you think, and most likely fewer grand Second Age stories even being told, unless a character actually chooses to talk about something we don’t really see.
I still can’t figure out that first still image we saw a few months back, except that it is probably in a flashback, and that the image is from Galadriel’s point of view, looking at her brother, the city and the Two Trees. Heck, if she’s been shipwrecked and in the water, what better way to get some prologue style flashbacks into the existing story.
Staffer Entmaiden
I love the diversity in the casting and I’m especially looking forward to seeing more of the Dwarven princess. I was never expecting a beard because my head-canon from 30+ years of reading before the movies never pictured a female dwarf with a beard. It’s fascinating to see this is a deal-breaker for so many. Same for short hair on elves.
I remember all the uproar when the Lord of the Rings movies first came out, that they were not “faithful” to the books. Interesting to see this repeated by movie-firsters, who now deplore that the Rings of Power isn’t “faithful” to the original movies.
I was interested to read that the show plans to compress the hundreds of years of the Second Age. I’m OK with that because there is not enough of Tolkien’s content to pull together a coherent story. I appreciate the point made in the article that the multiple cast changes would be confusing.
I see a similar attention to detail in the pictures released so far that made the original movies so believable. Of course, the costumes, swords, jewelry, etc that we’ve seen so far are different; I still very much like what I have seen so far.
Overall, I’m very intrigued and look forward to more reveals.
Staffer Kelvarhin
I’m really interested to see how the new characters develop. I’m also quite happy to see the greater diversity amongst the various peoples of Middle-earth. This is because, right from the very first time I read The Lord of the Rings, over 40 years ago, I always assumed that’s what the peoples of Middle-earth were like, with just as much diversity as our world has.
I can’t help wondering about the time compression. I can understand the difficulty of trying to show over 3000 years of Middle-earth history, and facing having so many characters dying from old age, but it’s intriguing to figure out how this compression of time is going to work without it becoming a bit messy.
Curious as to where Celeborn is, whilst Galadriel is off hunting orcs. Maybe he became a stay-at-home dad to Celebrían.
I really don’t have a problem with short hair on elves. Tolkien never actually specifies that all of the Eldar have long hair. Someone on Facebook was claiming that Glorfindel’s hair streaming behind him, as he rode his horse, was proof that all elves have really long hair. Well, when I went riding in my teens mine used to do that too, and my hair was only shoulder length at the time.
I can’t wait to see Khazad-dûm in all its glory.
I do still have some reservations about the show, but I’m willing to wait until I’ve actually watched it before I make any judgements. The same as I did with the Peter Jackson movies.
Staffer Elessar
I’ll start with the diversity we saw in the images. I personally loved what I saw. Based on what I’ve read of Tolkien over the years these characters could easily fit into the books. So for me I think that Amazon is doing solid with this. If folks want to get mad then get mad that they made Elrond a blonde. Otherwise getting your knickers in a twist over invented characters and not already established ones seems like a giant waste of energy.
I also love the detailing we see in these photos. If looks like it’s going to be a world that’s actually lived in. The armor looks fantastic as well as the weapons. I’m hoping this means that our friends at Weta Workshop are doing the work. That means these seasons should have some quality items on screen in this regard. This is also good for cos-players as they’ll have some quality items they can work to create.
One of the big things I think is the time compression. I’ve already seen some folks complaining about this. Why? In order to hit the marks for this you were going to have to have this happen. Otherwise this show would have to last well beyond my lifetime. So as long as proper care is taken this should workout and give us something folks can enjoy.
I’m a movie-firster. So based on some of what we’re seeing changes to Elrond and some looks to weapons some haven’t seen yet. This doesn’t appear to be set in the same sandbox as the Peter Jackson films. For me that is a massive disappointment. Why? I find those films to be about as perfect as you can find. They translated the text rather beautifully I find (after having read the books multiple times now). If Amazon didn’t take a page out of the Disney/Marvel playbook and connect everything a-la the MCU, they’ve missed a big chance. PJ already showed you how you could turn out a kick-ass product that is respectful of Tolkien and makes folks happy. Will this show still be good? Maybe. Will I still enjoy it? Maybe. That still doesn’t mean I won’t be disappointed and feel like this was a massive missed opportunity.
Staffer Nancy “Mithril” Steinman
One thing I realize about The Rings of Power is that the show has only the barest of outlines to work with. The Lord of the Rings “Appendix B: The Second Age” is only twelve-and-a-half pages long. These pages hit highlight points only, leaping across huge gaps in time. The sole note about Galadriel is half a sentence long, yet the Second Age lasts 3,441 years, and she is in Middle-earth that entire time. With this information and a few poems, the showrunners have to create “50 hours of television” per J.D. Payne.
Even if The Silmarillion were available to Amazon, only two chapters are relevant to the Second Age. Mentions of named characters contain little insight into their daily lives or emotions. How can new material not be invented to fill in the gaps? How many viewers would continue to tune in for multiple seasons of a show that has no depth or breadth?
The posters and released photos reveal nuanced characters and costumes with wonderful details, so I’ll give the show the benefit of the doubt that they will be able to do the same with story. On a side note, I’m pleased to see that most of the costumes don’t have long, draping sleeves. Although Ngila Dickson’s designs for Peter Jackson’s films are gorgeous, after wearing those sleeves for cosplay, I know how impractical they are and always wondered how the actors (and characters) managed.
I’m excited for one possible aspect of the expansion of the story I think the Vanity Fair article indicates -– we will get to see life in the lands to the south of Gondor. The captions under the photos of Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi) and Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova) give a clue. They say Bronwyn lives in the “Southland” in the village of Tirharad (“harad” translates as “south” in Sindarin, and “tir”, “to look or guard”). To me, this means we will get to see Harad from a perspective other than that of a land filled with stereotyped “evil” Haradrim warriors. Harad is a vast land that would have been populated with all kinds of people, and in the Second Age, the Númenóreans mixed with this culture, for both benevolent and selfish purposes.
For myself, I am hopeful that the stories we want to hear will be told, even if the timeline is compressed, and even if they are not exactly as Tolkien might have written them.
Staffer Ashlee
It is exciting to FINALLY have a real look at what we’ve been talking about for two years!!
The thing I am most excited about IS the diversity in these characters. Representation matters SO much and seeing such a range brought to Tolkien’s world brings me a great deal of joy. No-one should be offended by seeing a wide array of skin tones, period. A great deal of the initial reaction online deeply disappointed me. Tolkien’s work at it’s core represents UNITY and people coming together from all corners of Middle-earth for the greater good. Inclusion IS the greater good and I’m thrilled to see Amazon doing an apparent good job at that.
The image of Galadriel in the armor I absolutely love, I’m sorry but I do. Ignore how the background looks/color grading/etc. Just her in the armor was exciting to see. We KNOW that Amazon is not strapped to only the materials they have approval to use and that they will be creating new characters, stories and even directions/roles for characters that already exist. I don’t see a negative to making Galadriel have a bad ass warrior queen reality.
Artistic license and creative freedom needs to be allowed. There is no way to make every single person happy, even with the best of intentions. We saw that with PJ’s Middle-earth and we will definitely see it with Amazon. Everyone needs to a deep breath before the plunge (see what I did there?) and reserve judgment until actually seeing an episode. I have a lot of thoughts regarding the images we have been shown, but without more information? I’m keeping my opinions to myself until I understand the breadth of the direction they are taking with this series: both visually and with the stories being told (canon or not).
The love story plot line… I will say my initial reaction is that I’m not too keen on this. I hated it in the Hobbit, but we shall see.
My introduction to Tolkien’s work was through the storytelling of Peter Jackson, the lens of Andrew Lesnie and the talents of every artisan and artist who worked on the film trilogy. I read the books immediately after seeing Fellowship in theaters with my mom (who worked so hard to convince an 11-year-old Potterhead that I would love The Lord of the Rings even more. She was right). When I read the books, I saw Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth. That is what I have seen every re-read since. It will be very hard for me to “see” this series as of the same world that I have been obsessed with for 20 years if it doesn’t look close enough to PJ’s version… but IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THE SAME (I keep telling myself and the world). Different CAN be good. We won’t know until we see it. There can be a place for BOTH in a fan’s heart.
I am cautiously optimistic at this point. I need to see a trailer to form a more informed opinion, but I hear that’s happening soon? 🙂
Entertainment rag Variety is reporting that The Saul Zaentz Company is set to sell all of its Tolkien IP.
The company holds, according to its site, “exclusive worldwide rights to motion picture, merchandising, stage and other rights in certain literary works of J.R.R. Tolkien including The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.”
It originally acquired the rights in 1976 in an arrangement with United Artists. It subsequently licensed rights to filmmaker Ralph Bakshi for an animated film (released in 1978) and for director Peter Jackson to produce live-action trilogies of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
Variety states that the sale could be worth at least US $2 billion, “based on recent high valuations for top-tier IP and content producers”. ACF Investment Bank is currently shopping a deal around with a number of prospective buyers.
Earlier this week, TheOneRing.net EXCLUSIVELY brought you the official show synopsis for Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series TV show. In case you missed it, here it is:
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.
Staffers from TORn have been poring over this, wondering what every tiny scrap of information could mean; and we’ve been gathering their reactions, to share with you.
Fans have waited patiently for 3 years, since Amazon announced they acquired the TV rights to LORD OF THE RINGS, to get an idea of what a new Middle-earth show will be about. We finally have the answer, thanks to an incredible spy report. TheOneRing.net has verified the authenticity & accuracy of this show description.
Here is the official show synopsis for Amazon’s billion-dollar LOTR series:
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.
Rumors have flown ever since Amazon & the Tolkien Estate announced the new visual collaboration. Early reports were that the story of young Aragorn would be explored – a strategy that shifted after the showrunners and writing team were assembled. In a surprising turn, Amazon released a teaser map and crew video announcing the Second Age of Middle-earth, 1000s of years before the events of The Hobbit and LOTR. Numenor, heretofore unmentioned in film adaptations, would clearly be a central location for the series.
Amazon’s LOTR is currently planned as a minimum 5-season series, with 8 to 10 episodes per season. Filming begins this month on back-to-back Seasons 1&2 in New Zealand. While the showrunners are new to Hollywood with nothing on their production resumes, the fabulous J.A. Bayona was hired to direct the 2-part pilot and set the tone for the entire series to come. The pilot has completed filming and is currently in post production.
See the reaction of fans & staff of TheOneRing.net community as they hear the official synopsis of the LOTR show on TORn Tuesday! Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook
“A palace with a thousand and one entrances, J.R.R. Tolkien’s world can be explored through a thousand and one doorways … doors and corridors leading into often unexplored aspects of his universe.” – tolkienestate.com
TolkienEstate.com Home Page
If you’ve never visited the Tolkien Estate website, you’re in for a wonderful treat – one of seemingly endless discovery and learning about everything Tolkien. If you’re one of the lucky ones who have already discovered this gem of a site, it’s time to revisit it!
Amazon Studios’ LOTR Series Heads Into Uncharted Carnal Waters with Casting Call for Nudity and an “Intimacy Coordinator”
This might be a singularly surprising or even upsetting concept to present to Tolkien fans. If I were to address this reality to Star Wars, or Harry Potter, or even Miyazaki fandom it could raise eyebrows or outright alarm. But gather ’round the campfire and hear my tremulous words:
“Prepare for a newly-sexualized version of your favorite fantasy world.”
It’s the equivalent of saying: “Get ready to watch Anakin and Padme do something onscreen that will forever alter the way you see Star Wars. Sorry about the sand. It gets everywhere.”
Is this a real lightning rod issue? Depends on your temperament. I have to be really careful about presumed gatekeeping (which is not my intention) or any semblance of that; I just want this discussion WAY out in the open. Let’s get to the heart of this, because it is a thing now.
We must clearly ask ourselves what we want and don’t want from a billion-dollar Tolkien TV adaptation, because the tracks are laid and that train is headed straight for us, via your streaming device and paid subscription.
It is needful to discuss and understand those qualities of Tolkien’s work that are most important to us. Fair to say we have a worldwide multigenerational scholarly and fan community that share some great common denominators of what “fidelity” means in an adaptation of Tolkien. Thankfully we have shared voices; and if we shout from the rooftops collectively Amazon Studios might, perchance, just listen.
Let’s tell them what we expect. We are the audience they need to win over, after all.
T/W: By necessity, our topics today include sex organs, bodily functions, sexual abuse and rape in other fantasy TV shows, and coordinating intimacy—so here’s the trigger warning ahead of time. New territory for TheOneRing.net, BUT HEY IT’S 2020! Bear with me. We may find an egalitarian way forward in this conversation.
Amazon’s Approach: Will There Be Sex On Screen?
Fact check: We can confirm Amazon Studios has hired Jennifer Ward-Lealand, a well-known New Zealand Intimacy Coordinator, for the Lord of the Rings production.
The only Amazon show in NZ is Lord of the Rings, a production so overwhelmingly large that Auckland film unions report that over 80% of all local production crew are working on it, leaving no crew for other TV shows. It should be known that instead of clearly stating to be on LOTR, Ms. Ward-Lealand’s official site declares the acronym for “Untitled Amazon Project” / UAP is listed on her upcoming projects, first reported on Knight Edge Media and other sites. We know for sure Amazon’s UAP is the catch-all working title for LOTR. Remember how “Jamboree” and “Little Rivers” were the working titles for Peter Jackson’s LOTR and Hobbit Trilogies, respectively. But how much nudity is Amazon considering?
Fact check: Rumor! An open casting call for background extras “comfortable with nudity” appeared. Just how many naked extras do you need for a classy, romantic love-making scene?
Caleb Williams dug deep while reflecting on some of our earlier reporting on TheOneRing.net of new casting announcements by BGT Casting; stating ‘must be comfortable with nudity’ for upcoming roles in LOTR. Put two and two together: there’s an Intimacy Coordinator who serves an important role to ensure the well-being of actors during sex scenes (or with nudity) and then we learn nudity in certain roles is openly asked for.
Will Characters Be ‘Sexified’ That Weren’t In Tolkien’s Books?
Fact Check: Unknown! The precise story they’re telling is unknown, as is the time within the 2nd Age wherein it’s all set. Don’t know what’s in the scripts, their content, nor what proper characters are associated with already-established cast members. We do know who plays a handful of the leads (Galadriel, Elrond) with best guesswork. We follow these actors on Instagram but we don’t know exactly who this ‘Tyra’ characters is because Tolkien never named one.
We surely don’t know who’s involved in scenes of nudity/sexuality. Debate is now open on where that would be necessary in a grand story of Númenor or the Elven-smiths of Eregion, or the welcoming halls of Khazad-dûm in its pre-Balrog glory.
We do know they are using water tanks. A stunt performer was injured filming scenes underwater (and she has thankfully recovered). Possible connection to Númenor being flooded and ruined in a specific catastrophe? Yes, quite possible. Underwater scenes depicting naked people swimming? We just don’t know.
How Tolkien Presented Sexualized Content
He simply didn’t. Tolkien was super-duper Catholic. In his own words to his publisher he expressed the desire for his overall Legendarium to be presented as “‘high’, purged of the gross.” That’s from his famous Letter 131. I’ll get back to it in a bit. He did not write stories in the manner of George R.R. Martin, although the inverse is often true. The word ‘rape’ does not appear in The Hobbit, and only once in LOTR: The Return of the King (even then not referencing a person but a geographical place, Gondor: as in ‘sack’ or ‘pillage’).
There are a few notable instances of non-sexual nudity mentioned in The Lord of the Rings itself: (a) the hobbits’ bath in Crickhollow, (b) the running naked through the grass to clear their hearts and minds after imprisonment by the Barrow Wights, (c) Frodo’s rescue by Sam at the Tower of Cirith Ungol. Perhaps there’s one I missed.
A few stories from The Silmarillion include incredibly dark things like incest; as with Túrin and Niënor. But that wasn’t their fault (poor things) and Amazon Studios does not have the licensing for those particular stories.
That’s not what they’re currently producing.
Tolkien vs. Other Popular Fantasy
I’m more keen to look at Tolkien’s works the way the Professor himself looked at them. He was spiritually and mentally deliberate in everything he did. With his “Sub-Creation” Tolkien meant to celebrate God’s main Creation with such language and artistry as he possessed. This Secondary World of Arda was a vessel of joy and a profound expression of faith. If anyone had a “purity” litmus test for this kind of fantasy it was John Ronald himself, as seen in a nearly 10,000-word letter to his publisher Milton Waldman, from late 1951:
Do not laugh! But once upon a time (my crest has long since fallen) I had a mind to make a body of more or less connected legend, ranging from the large and cosmogonic, to the level of romantic fairy-story, the larger founded on the lesser in contact with the earth, the lesser drawing splendour from the vast backcloths – which I could dedicate simply to: to England; to my country. It should possess the tone and quality that I desired, somewhat cool and clear, be redolent of our ‘air’ (the clime and soil of the North West, meaning Britain and the hither parts of Europe: not Italy or the Aegean, still less the East), and, while possessing (if I could achieve it) the fair elusive beauty that some call Celtic (though it is rarely found in genuine ancient Celtic things), it should be ‘high’, purged of the gross, and fit for the more adult mind of a land long now steeped in poetry. I would draw some of the great tales in fullness, and leave many only placed in the scheme, and sketched. The cycles should be linked to a majestic whole, and yet leave scope for other minds and hands, wielding paint and music and drama. Absurd.
Excerpt from Letter 131, “The Letters of J.R.R Tolkien” (1981), p. 143
Here he admits his original ambitions may have been overreaching. Generations later we find they were not; as many other minds, artists, and hands have since played within Arda. Amazon Studios is playing in that sandbox right now, as I write this. Broadly speaking, Tolkien’s popularity helped launch an entire strata of “High Romantic Fantasy” that changed publishing forever. Previous adaptations of his books to films, plays, games, comics and audio have, by and large, held true to this aesthetic.
Notice how he describes his connected Legendarium with words like “large and cosmogonic,” “splendour,” “elusive beauty,” “majestic,” “steeped in poetry,” and the most revealing of all: “‘high,’ purged of the gross.”
He never uses words like “scatological,” “salacious,” “sexually charged,” “tumescent,” “steeped in carnality,” or “debauched.” If you are even slightly attuned to Tolkien’s stories you know the tone he set. You know the point I’m driving at. I don’t even feel like being subtle anymore.
Look… this is Tolkien telling you why none of his characters masturbate or take a pee break behind the bushes. He’s telling you why his characters are never described in acts of copulation or defecation. Yes they certainly did copulate, but none of that needed to appear; violating his deliberate idiomatic approach that served his own noble purpose. Nobody ever said the word fart in Middle-earth, at least not through the voice of our omniscient narrator. Elsewhere he makes clear his reasoning: the heroic and sympathetic characters do not engage in acts causing revulsion. He leaves that to the Orcs, corrupted enemies, demonic monsters, and their poisoned physical environments; and it greatly heightens the sense of revulsion in the reader by such measured and careful use. Tolkien said that the Orcs’ language (part of their unique cultural brutalism) was far worse than he let on. SO NOTHING IS GRATUITOUS. Not one word is wasted in its application or import.
Professor Tolkien kept the toilets, orgasms, and such other bodily ephemera offstage the entire time. Invisible. Never even suggested. This is high fantasy, remember, and a special kind too. There’s one noticeable exception in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug where Peter Jackson showed Bilbo and the Dwarves climbing into Bard’s house through the secret entrance of, yes, the toilet. Thus the word ‘toilet’ entered Middle-earth dialogue for the first time (Tolkien would have disapproved linguistically at the very least because it’s so damn French); but to some fans this silly, throwaway gag was a red flag that P.J. had *perhaps* missed some of the marks in his adaptation of The Hobbit (amongst other reasons, looking at you Tauriel/Kili/Legolas triangle) compared to the monumental achievement of his previous Trilogy.
Case in point: even the provocative director of the X-rated film Fritz the Cat, Ralph Bakshi, managed to keep it in his pants. His ambitious yet incomplete 1978 animated Lord of the Rings stays in the right lane, true to its high fantasy trope, even though the film is wildly psychedelic in its visual flair. Such a great contrast to his other fantasies Wizards and Fire & Ice which was R-rated “Adult Swim”-fare arriving decades early! Instinctively and thoughtfully, Bakshi knew that Tolkien’s story didn’t need all the Tits & Ass that had previously made the animator the darling of 70’s arthouse cinema. He kept that out of Middle-earth, indulging it elsewhere more suitably for his other films.
I recall my Dad taking me to the movies see John Boorman’s Excalibur when I was just 12. He knew my brother and I were really big on this sword and sorcery thing. Our love of Tolkien was so strong Dad figured the King Arthur legend would be ideal for us but he didn’t comprehend what was behind the “R” rating. I remember so clearly the opening scenes of Uther Pendragon’s sexual assault against Arthur’s mother, arranged by Merlin to conceive the future King. Shocked, my Dad leaned over to check on me—uncertain what to do: “You okay son? This might be too much for you…” I waved him off, “Yeah, I’m fine,” while my retinas were seared permanently with the first sexual act I had ever witnessed in my life. It was inscrutable and jarring to a child. Confusing. Dad wasn’t prepared to discuss the birds and bees and their biological needs, not by a mile. It didn’t overly-phase me, as my young mind was too busy trying to memorize The Charm of Making.
But it would strike me as very odd (and unnecessary) that a future predicament similar to my Father’s might befall parents innocently watching “a Tolkien fantasy show.” Imagine if suddenly you have to press pause, take the smallest children out of the room, and… “have the talk.” Well, you get it.
That was assuredly the moment for me where Tolkien differentiated himself from other fantasy storytellers. Indeed, that distinction was drawn in sharpest relief. Perhaps we are lucky that Mr. Boorman never got to direct LOTR for United Artists (that almost happened for real, but he made Excalibur instead).
“Dawn of the Firstborn Elves” by Ted Nasmith
If you are unfamiliar or never read Tolkien and wanted to get into the fandom, would you want to start with the adaptation that stikes furthest away from Tolkien’s literary sensibilities? One which could be deemed too much for a child to watch?
Sure, there’s more than enough room for all the “adult content” of darkness and otherworldly terrors from Tolkien’s larger span of legends, there is DEFINITELY a place for that! I’m not arguing against any adaptation desirous of that. We can go as far away from the golden-hued fairy story of Bilbo’s journey that you want and go right to the 2nd Age of Sauron-inflicted deceits, treachery, and metaphysical corruption.
But why does it need to be prurient?
The horrors brought upon Númenor end up with Satanic style Morgoth-worship and ghoulish human sacrifices. Body horror? Beheadings? Ripping living hearts from a sacrificial victim? Maybe. But there are no brothels mentioned. No Littlefinger. No orgies.
The Hobbit and LOTR stand rather apart from the most insanely disturbing stuff within The Silmarillion (especially) and Unfinished Tales, so yes, it may yet be that someday we will have a separation of what Tolkien shows/movies you watch with your little ones… and those you just don’t. And now we realize the time may be upon us sooner than we think.
I’m just a guy who knows what he’s getting when he reads Tolkien. I know what I like: the languages, the world-building, the spirit of Arda. There’s a gazillion other styles and idioms of modern fantasy where you can get your fix of anything: be they puppets (The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance) or video games (hey there Witcher).
Now The Witcher comes to mind as a counterpoint to Game of Thrones in terms of sexual portrayals. GoT portrayed so much of its sex negatively, tied to assault and dehumanizing acts (yeah, yeah there’s a wee bit of “romance” in the tub Jaime/Brienne) while in contrast The Witcher is extremely playful and wink-wink (hey, there’s a magic spell for your erectile dysfunction, how cute), and the orgy scene shows a woman completely in charge of its illusory energy. Not a victim at all compared to so many other depictions of female characters in fantasy. Yes, there’s room for all that sexy “insert tab A into slot B” in modern fantasy, as we have seen, but the end results can be widely divergent.
Y’all ready for this? As I said in the Star Wars example at the top of this piece, Amazon’s series might be an adaptation that forever alters how we see Arda.
What Exactly Do We Want From Amazon’s 2nd Age Series?
That’s the big kahuna. The ever-burning question. Observe what’s happening over there in Amazonland/Auckland. They hired a ton of very talented people but let’s focus on a couple of things:
Esteemed Tolkien scholar and author Tom Shippey was only brought on board to help with the Map of Middle-earth that launched their Twitter feed a year ago. There has not been any marketing effort since then and he is confirmed to be no longer on the project. It seemed to be only lip-service to the fans, which does NOT work. That kind of subterfuge will NOT work, Amazon. We don’t know why his name still appears on the Cast and Crew Listing over on IMDb.
John Howe is not currently in New Zealand and does not appear to be working on the production, certainly not in the fullness of his engagement as he was with Alan Lee back in the time of the New Line LOTR Trilogy. He may have provided some work for Amazon’s show but he’s seemingly not now.
Then there’s that one dude that has caused a wee bit of nerves. Bryan Cogman is onboard as a Consulting Producer, after his commanding story work for Benioff and Weiss on HBO’s Game of Thrones. Quite capable and mega-geek-centric, Mr. Cogman however was a focal point of some controversy on that production. Ringers have been quite vocal that the kind of “rapey” Sansa Stark storylines (attributed to Mr. Cogman) would NEVER be the kind of thing they’d want to see in Middle-earth, no matter how gritty you want to get.
Grit and realism have their place. Darkness and light are explored in their extremes. No one is shying away from the more “adult” things Tolkien had in his stories or saying they don’t exist. The real question is to what extent are they going to “sexify” this show for the sake of getting their next Game of Thrones mega-hit? Just look at this from Variety where Jeff Bezos has mandated a programming shift to get what he wants: another GoT.
AMAZON: So you’re okay with accidental incest, human sacrifice, dismemberment, and sins against Eru?
RINGER FANS: Yes! That’s what Tolkien wrote!
AMAZON: But… you’re not okay with depicting sexualized characters having intercourse?
RINGER FANS: Exactly! That’s what Tolkien wrote!
AMAZON: ……
A predictable future tweet
My personal take: What fans want most from any Tolkien adaptation is verisimilitude. Something that carries the true spirit of Tolkien and has integrity in realizing it. Amazon’s showrunners can keep that integrity by staying true to the themes and characters and intent of the author. It is not impossible to guess Tolkien’s intentions when they are so plainly available to us, even though he is gone. #FidelitytoTolkien is a hashtag we have endeavored to use. Not perfect, but it’s a decent axiom to bear in mind.
Seeing anything remotely sexified between Galadriel and Annatar (oooh, a hot young shirtless Sauron in his seduction mode) or anything else like that is going to turn off fans so fast it will cause seismic waves through a very vocal fandom.
There won’t be any coming back from that. 1000’s of fans have replied and quote-tweeted this news with a variety of opinions for and against:
We are starting to see casting calls for actors "comfortable with nudity"
AMAZON DON'T DO IT
DO NOT!
This isn't Game of Thrones. Hedonism did not bring down Numenor.
Does the Tolkien Estate Have “Veto Power” Over the Scripts?
Fact check: Unconfirmed! Well, we have been reporting that they do but it is unclear to what extent that power really exists. It is troubling. The Estate’s authority over the show’s content might not be sacrosanct; indeed it may be limited to keeping the structural frame of the narrative within the existing timelines we know are book-canon. They most likely don’t have final script approval (maybe there’s an infinitesimal chance they do); but it’s more like a general oversight to prevent fundamental alteration to the histories. We have a funny feeling that the two-episode combined pilot they are finishing up will be presented for the Estate’s approval. Time will tell.
But in my mind we’re better off tackling this as a fandom right now, and tell them what we want and don’t want from this Tolkien adaptation. They must listen.
Ringers—I ask you all: Do you want this LOTR to be just a Witcher meets Riverdale series with the branding of Middle-earth slapped on it? Why do I even say that? Because I’m afraid that’s what’s happening. Respected Tolkien twitter scholar The_Tolkienist shared an epic 30-tweet thread on the matter (with plenty of wink wink sarcasm).
One of those threads that hold no provocatively debated issues, points of contention, highly divergent perspectives …
SEXUALITY, TOLKIEN & LOTRONPRIME.
Strap in, a cis het middle-age white male is going to splain.*
Leave your comments on our message boards and social platforms: Twitter, FB, Instagram, knowing that Amazon Studios are definitely listening… and collecting data (!)… and calibrating their next efforts.
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The horrors brought upon Númenor end up with Satanic style Morgoth-worship and ghoulish human sacrifices. Body horror? Beheadings? Ripping living hearts from a sacrificial victim? Maybe. But there are no brothels mentioned. No Littlefinger. No orgies. 