Amazon's upcoming Lord of the Rings series has been a subject of contention lately, with some looking forward to it and others saying it's a lazy nostalgia rehash to make money. Consider John Rhys-Davies, the original Gimli actor, in the latter since he had some negative things to say about the upcoming series. While the series can explore some elements the films weren't able to, no one can blame Davies given how acclaimed Peter Jackson's trilogy is.
During an interview with Den of Geek, Rhys-Davies was asked about the series and he didn't hold back. The actor felt that the studio was only doing this to make money and went as far to call it a disgrace. While this isn't the first Amazon series based on books, with American Gods and Man in the High Castle on top of the streaming service's lineup, the original films are still fresh in most people's memory.
"Well, you know they have the money to do it. Why we quite need Lord Of The Rings as a TV series baffles me slightly, but I'm sure that [in all honesty I can't make out the word here and don't think it's wise to make an educated guess] are so utterly unprincipled and greedy for money for anything – I mean the extraordinary money they're getting from online gambling and stuff like this, it's just a disgrace. I mean, poor Tolkien must be spinning in his grave."
Rhys-Davies went on to point out that the money they used to make this series could have gone to a new, original Amazon series. At the least, it could have gone to another adaptation that hasn't been brought to the big or digital screen yet. While fans can hope that the series will focus on other aspects of the series that the films didn't delve into, keep in mind that the special editions of the films have hours of extra footage that could render this effort mute.
No release date for the Lord of the Rings series has been released.
Read:Lord Of The Rings Franchise Could Change With Purist Tolkien Estate Director's Resignation
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