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5 Characters We’d Like To See In Amazon’s Lord Of The Rings Series


Earlier this month, Amazon announced that it had acquired the global television rights to the Lord of the Rings franchise and that a multi-season prequel series would be developed in conjunction with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins, and New Line Cinema. Naturally, this news sparked near-instantaneous speculation by fans as to which of J.R.R. Tolkien’s vast array of stories and characters could be headed to the small screen.

We hear at Epicstream certainly have our own inclinations, so here are 5 characters we’d like to see in Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series:

  1. Beren And Lúthien

    Alright, this one might be cheating because it’s technically two characters, but you really can’t have one without the other.

    Stemming from The Silmarillion, the beautiful love story of Beren and Lúthien is something akin to that of Aragorn and Arwen – Beren is a mortal human warrior and Lúthien is an immortal Elf Maiden of Doriath.

    In order to win approval from Lúthien's disapproving father, the two lovers find themselves on a seemingly impossible quest to steal the Silmaril from Morgoth, the master and predecessor of Sauron. With the aid of Finrod of Nargothrond and Huan the Great Hound, Beren and Lúthien prevail, at least until Beren loses one of his hands and the Silmaril when they’re both swallowed by the great wolf Carcharoth. However, in the process of slaying Carcharoth and once again retrieving the Silmaril, Beren is mortally wounded and dies in Lúthien's arms, and she too dies of a broken heart.

    This isn’t the end of their journey, though, because, after her death, Lúthien enters the Halls of Mandos, and it’s here that she convinces Mandos to grant her one final wish: For her and Beren to be reborn as mortals. It’s a heartbreakingly beautiful tale that would be perfect for a multi-season series should Amazon chose to utilize these characters.

  2. Glaurung

    If Amazon is really looking for its Lord of the Rings series to be an answer to HBO’s Game of Thrones, which – let’s face it – the studio absolutely is, then why not fight fire with fire? After all, Daenerys Targaryen is the Mother of Dragons, so it’d be nothing short of fitting for Amazon to bring the Father of Dragons, Glaurung, to the small screen if filling the inevitable Game of Thrones void is a top priority.

    The first fire-breathing dragon in Middle-earth, Glaurung was created by the aforementioned Morgoth in attempt to aid his army of Orcs against the Ñoldor in Beleriand. Despite his lack of wings, Glaurung still managed to raise unprecedented hell, particularly for the Elves in Hithlum and Dorthonion.

    However, if Amazon really wants to push the envelope closer to Game of Thrones territory, the studio should venture deeper within The Silmarillion to the story of Glaurung’s later years, where he causes a woman named Nienor to lose her mind. Forgetting who she is, Nienor runs through the forest like a deer until she’s discovered by her brother Túrin, who doesn’t realize it’s his own sister. The two fall in love and eventually wed, but when Túrin manages to slay Glaurung, the dragon restores Nienor’s memories and she’s so horrified by what’s transpired that she kills herself. Unfortunately, things don’t turn out much better for Túrin, either, as he throws himself onto his sword upon waking from a fainting spell. How’s that for Jon and Daenerys-level drama?

  3. Isildur

    Should Amazon decide that it wants to appeal to fans of the Lord of the Rings films without completely alienating those not familiar with the rest of Tolkien’s legendarium, a character the studio might want to consider bringing to the series is Isildur.

    Appearing in flashbacks in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, Isildur is the ancestor of Aragorn who cut the One Ring from Sauron’s hand during the War of the Last Alliance. Including him in the series would be a smart choice because a late-Second Age setting would allow for plenty of new stories to be told, while still keeping the War of the Last Alliance at the forefront of the narrative as an overarching plot point throughout the series.

    In addition to a pseudo-familiar storyline, Isildur’s inclusion in the series would also mean we could see some other familiar faces. There’s Elrond, for one, but let’s not forget the most obvious choice…

  4. Sauron

    If Isildur is part of the series and he’s the one who inevitably cuts the One Ring from Sauron’s hand, then it only makes sense that the former Servant of Morgoth appear, as well. After all, there needs to be a big bad for the War of the Last Alliance.

    Alternatively, though, Amazon could explore the early days of Sauron, recounting his journey from the good and virtuous Mairon to the dark and evil Sauron. We could explore the beginning of Mairon and Morgoth’s alliance, back when Mairon was still putting on the ruse that he was faithful to the Valar, and the series could culminate with him leaving the Blessed Realms in the First Age.

    Another option would be to stretch the series even further, all the way up until the Rings of Power are forged. However, if we’re talking about the Rings of Power, we’d be remiss to not mention another character we’d like to see in the series that possessed a ring (Narya, to be specific)…

  5. Gandalf

    You can keep your young Han Solos and your young Sheldons – a young Gandalf series, though? That’s something that almost any Tolkien fan would be able to get behind.

    We could begin in the Undying Lands, back when Gandalf was known as Olórin, and the series could eventually explore his arrival to Middle-earth, along with the other four Istari who were sent to combat the threat of Sauron. In fact, the series could run right up until the events of The Hobbit trilogy, which would allow us to see the early days of the White Council and the beginning of the relationship between Gandalf and Saruman.

    What do you think? Are these characters you’d like to see in Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series? Let us know in the comments section!

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