Lord of the Rings: New '$1bn' Amazon Prime series casts first actor

The big-budget TV show will explore new storylines preceding JRR Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring

Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series, which is estimated to cost $1 billion, has cast its first actor.

Markella Kavenagh, best known for her roles in The Cry and Picnic at Hanging Rock, is set to play a character named Tyra, according to Variety.

The epic, big-budget fantasy series is being developed by the Star Trek 4 writing team of JD Payne and Patrick McKay. Game of Thrones screenwriter Bryan Cogman has signed on as a consultant on the project with JA Bayona (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) set to direct multiple episodes.

Details of the new Lord of the Rings series have been largely kept under wraps, but we do know that it will explore new storylines preceding author JRR Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring.

The Lord of the Rings series’ official Twitter account posted a picture of a map accompanied by two messages: “One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them, In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie,” as well as “Welcome to the Second Age.”

Lord of the Rings is expected to span five seasons on Amazon Prime, a release date for the series has not yet been announced.