With a whopping $715 million price tag, Amazon has a whole lot riding on its new The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series. Set a thousand years before the events of the blockbuster films, the show will delve deep into J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth lore as it goes toe-to-to with another high-profile fantasy prequel, HBO’s House of the Dragon that’s already dominating streaming charts. Will audiences who’ve come to expect the more violent and graphic world of Game of Thrones still tune in for The Lord of the Rings‘ more family-friendly, yet no less epic fare? That’s the huge question weighing over Amazon’s head.
During The Rings of Power U.K. premiere, Jeff Bezos revealed a more personal challenge for the massive series: Not failing his son who’s become obsessed with all things Tolkien. Via Variety:
“My kids have become Tolkien fans as well. In fact one of my boys I think approaches the level of a Tolkien scholar he knows so much about this universe. And after Amazon got involved in this project, my son came up to me one day, he looked me in the eyes, very sincerely, and he said: ‘Dad, please don’t eff this up.’ And he was right. We know that this world is important to so many people, we know it’s a privilege to work inside this world and we know it’s a big responsibility.”
While introducing the series, Bezos also thanked the showrunners, Patrick McKay and John D. Payne, for “ignoring” his notes and proving that Amazon made the right call in choosing the untested newcomers to lead newcomers into Middle-earth.
“Everybody here in this audience, you are all about to see that we made the right choice,” Bezos told the crowd.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premieres September 1 on Amazon Prime Video.