The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power may not arrive until September, but the Prime Video original series has been a topic of debate among fans of the Tolkien IP and fantasy series.
With talk that this could be the next Game of Thrones, some viewers have been wondering if the show will venture into the former HBO hit’s more mature territory, particularly when it comes to sex and violence. Rest assured though, showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay are keeping everyone in mind when it comes to the highly-anticipated fantasy drama.
When it came to crafting the series, Payne and McKay want everyone to enjoy the experience. McKay told Vanity Fair that the goal was “to make a show for everyone, for kids who are 11, 12, and 13, even though sometimes they might have to pull the blanket up over their eyes if it’s a little too scary.”
(Credit: Prime Video)
Thrills and chills are nothing new to the fantasy stories from Tolkien, but going too far in another direction to intrigue an adult audience wasn’t the way to go. “We talked about the tone in Tolkien’s books,” McKay continued. “This is material that is sometimes scary — and sometimes very intense, sometimes quite political, sometimes quite sophisticated — but it’s also heartwarming and life-affirming and optimistic.”
“It’s about friendship and it’s about brotherhood and underdogs overcoming great darkness.” What’s not to love? As for other elements in the series, anticipate some new and familiar characters. Although hobbits aren’t part of this chapter in Middle-earth’s history per se, their ancestors who are known as harfoots are.
“One of the very specific things the texts say is that hobbits never did anything historic or noteworthy before the Third Age,” shared McKay. “But really, does it feel like Middle-earth if you don’t have hobbits or something like hobbits in it?” And so, in lieu of The Shire, McKay and Payne constructed a pastoral society for the harfoot which thrives on secrecy and evading detection.
Focusing on the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth’s history, The Power of the Rings is set thousands of years before the events of Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, taking viewers on an adventure through an era during which great powers are forged as kingdoms rose to glory and fell into ruin.
Stay tuned for more as Prime Video unveils more first looks at the upcoming series ahead of its September debut.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Series Premiere, Friday, September 2, Prime Video
:quality(85):upscale()/2026/06/09/732/n/49352476/33700b5b6a28408346cd80.35100877_.png "Timothée and Kylie Are the Best Dressed Courtside Couple – Shop Their Looks From")
