Director J.A. Bayona says the production team will adhere to the most significant element in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
The ever-expanding fantasy world of the Middle-Earth comes to life in a TV series adaptation coming soon in a few weeks. In his interview with SFX Magazine, Bayona said that the series stays true to the aesthetics of the world the author created.
“When you read Tolkien’s books, you can tell how much he appreciates beauty, so the show is full of beauty. Tolkien is inherently optimistic, warm, and emotional. This is a man who went through some of the darkest things in human history [in the First World War], and he didn’t come out of that and write a despairing, awful story.”
Rings Of Power Will Bring Hope And Love At The Center Of Its Tale
Bayona also mentioned that hope and optimism are at the heart of the story, and it is the central theme of the series. Set thousands of years before the events in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, The Rings of Power is essentially a story of hope.
“[Tolkien] wrote a story about hope and a little guy succeeding. We always felt that it was rule number one that there needed to be true optimism and love, even in the darkest, scariest moments of the show.”
J.D. Payne, the show’s co-runner, added that the five-season series will focus on “the rise and the fall of Sauron,” and he also described it as a huge Tolkienien multi-epic. It will explore the long history of the Middle-Earth from a time of peace until Dark Lord Sauron’s ascend to power.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season one will arrive on Prime Video this September 2.