Lord of the Rings: Amazon TV series banned from replicating stories from Peter Jackson trilogy

The JRR Tolkien estate has put heavy restrictions on what can be depicted in the forthcoming series

The estate of Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkien has banned Amazon, home of the new Lord of the Rings TV series, from altering or replicating stories already told in Peter Jackson’s film adaptations.

Tom Shippey, a Tolkien scholar who has been brought on to supervise the forthcoming series, revealed to German fansite Deutsche Tolkien that the estate has refused the series to be set anywhere other than “The Second Age” of Middle Earth, meaning the time prior to the “Third Age” depicted in the films. The Second Age lasted for over 3,000 years and culminated in the first demise of Sauron.

“Amazon has a relatively free hand when it comes to adding something [to the Second Age], since… very few details are known about this time span,” Shippey said. “The Tolkien estate will insist that the main shape of the Second Age is not altered. Sauron invades Eriador, is forced back by a Númenorean expedition, is returns to Númenor. There he corrupts the Númenoreans and seduces them to break the ban of the Valar. All this, the course of history, must remain the same.

“But you can add new characters and ask a lot of questions, like: What has Sauron done in the meantime? Where was he after Morgoth was defeated? Theoretically, Amazon can answer these questions by inventing the answers, since Tolkien did not describe it. But it must not contradict anything which Tolkien did say. That’s what Amazon has to watch out for. It must be canonical, it is impossible to change the boundaries which Tolkien has created, it is necessary to remain ‘tolkienian’.”

Shippey also added that even the “First Age” of Middle Earth is “off-limits” to the new TV series as little of it was revealed by Tolkien himself, suggesting “it’s a bit of a minefield – you have to tread very carefully.”

Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series is believed to be entering production in 2020, though the streaming site has yet to confirm an official release date.