Amazon Prime Video’s sprawling Lord of the Rings TV series has added a whopping 20 new cast members. This is on top of the 15 that were previously announced. Robert Aramayo heads up the cast as the lead character, Beldor. Will Poulter had originally been cast in the role but departed due to scheduling conflicts. Despite this mammoth cast, almost none of their roles are known. One major exception is Morfydd Clark, who is playing a character from the books (and movies), Galadriel.
J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay act as writers, executive producers, and co-showrunners. J.A. Bayona (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) will direct the first two episodes. Amazon has already ordered two seasons, although rumor has it, the streaming service had to guarantee as many as five seasons in order to obtain the TV rights from the Tolkien Estate.
The newly announced cast members are Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Power), Maxim Baldry (Strikeback, who was actually already confirmed in March), newcomer Ian Blackburn, Kip Chapman (Westside), Anthony Crum (The Wilds), Maxine Cunliffe (Reset), Trystan Gravelle (Exile), Sir Lenny Henry (Doctor Who), Thusitha Jayasundera (Humans), Fabian McCallum (You, Me & The Apocalypse), Simon Merrells (Good Omens), Geoff Morrell (Harrow), Peter Mullan (Cursed), Lloyd Owen (Cleaning Up), Augustus Prew (The Morning Show), Peter Tait (Westside), Alex Tarrant (Mean Mums), Leon Wadham (The Bad Seed), Benjamin Walker (Jessica Jones), and Sara Zwangobani (Home and Away).
Peter Tait has an established connection to the Tolkien-verse, having appeared (under a ton of makeup) as the orc Shagrat in the film version of The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.
The previously announced cast members are Owain Arthur (A Confession), Nazanin Boniadi (Bombshell), Tom Budge (Secret Bridesmaids’ Business), Ismael Cruz Córdova (The Mandalorian), Ema Horvath (The Mortuary Collection), Markella Kavenagh (The Gloaming), Joseph Mawle (MotherFatherSon), Tyroe Muhafidin (web series Caravan), Sophia Nomvete (the play The Color Purple), Megan Richards (Wanderlust), Dylan Smith (Treadstone), Charlie Vickers (Medici: Masters of Florence), and Daniel Weyman (Gentleman Jack). Of course, add to that Aramayo and Clark.
The Lord of the Rings is currently filming in New Zealand– one of the rare external productions allowed to launch production in that nation after COVID-19 shutdowns. No word yet on when the show will be completed and released.
We will be posting more updates as they arrive! Be sure to stick around here at Geek Anything for all of the latest on Amazon’s Lord Of The Rings!
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
