On June 27, Amazon published a 15-second teaser for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which is due out on September 2. “Nothing is evil…in the beginning,” proclaims the short video, based on two one-minute teasers (teaser 1, teaser 2), released earlier this year.

According to IndieWire, the first season of the series may become the most expensive in history, it has a budget of $465 million. According to the words head of Amazon Studios Jennifer Salke, the series will attract the necessary number of viewers to be worth spent funds.

Acquiring the rights to The Lord of the Rings in 2017 already cost Amazon $250 million, making the series the most expensive of all time. However, according to the message of The Hollywood Reporter, the cost of the entire series will reach over $1 billion after production costs.

For example, the entire The Lord of the Rings trilogy by Peter Jackson cost $281 million. It collected $2.92 billion at the global box office.

The deal for $250 million is also accompanied by requirements for Amazon to shoot 5 seasons of the series. Guaranteed seasons must fully tell at least one story from beginning to end. The deal also includes potential spinoff series that will expand on the world of Middle-earth beyond this adaptation.

The events of the fantasy series will take place during the Second Age, which lasted 3441 years. The rights holders of Tolkien’s legacy did not allow Amazon to go beyond this time frame, so as not to distort the Third Age described in more detail.

It is known that the first season will have 20 або 22 episodes, although Amazon has not yet officially announced its volume. The second season was being developed in 2019, so we probably won’t have to wait long for it.