Forget everything you know about Middle-Earth. Amazon’s The Rings of Power plans to take even the most devoted Tolkien die-hards back to school with what concept artist John Howe calls the “unseen history” of the sprawling fantasy mythos.
“This isn’t the Middle-earth you remember … This is a world that’s very vibrant,” says the illustrator, who worked on both of Peter Jackson’s film trilogies set in this world. “The elves are not hidden away in Mirkwood or lingering in Rivendell. They’re busy constructing kingdoms. The dwarven kingdom of Moria is not an abandoned mine and the Grey Haven is not yet an abandoned city.”
That show will take excited viewers to the high seas of Middle-earth, which have never been explored onscreen before. They’ll feel the proverbial salty spray on their faces via the exploits of a race of sailing elves, whom Howe characterizes as “daunting, enterprising, and are almost colonizing the world. They were a lot of fun to imagine. It’s something neither The Lord of the Rings nor Hobbit movies went anywhere near.”
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power lands on Prime Video Friday, Sep. 2.