'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power': Everything to know about Amazon's much-anticipated fantasy drama

'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' is made on an unbelievable budget of $1.25 billion. This includes the $250 million amount that took for Amazon to get rights to Middle-earth. This makes 'Rings of Power' bigger and grander than anything we have seen our screens before. 
 

Apart from creators and showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay, the series has J. A. Bayona, the director of 'Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom' helming the first two episodes. Lindsey Weber, Callum Green, Bruce Richmond, Gennifer Hutchison, Jason Cahill, writer/executive producer Justin Doble, Bryan Cogman  and Stephany Folsom, Ron Ames, Helen Shang, and Glenise Mullins also in the creative team in different capacities.
 

As per Amazon, here is the synopsis of 'Rings of Power': "Amazon Studios’ forthcoming series brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth’s history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness. Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone."
 

As mentioned above, 'Rings of Power' has no relation to the events of 'Lord of the Rings' apart from the fact that the event this Amazon series depicts led to the War of the Ring. There are a few characters that both stories do share like Galadriel and Elrond, for elves in Tolkien's world live forever until they are killed. The main event is the forging of 'Rings of Power' by elven smith Celebrimbor, who was hoodwinked by Sauron. Among those Rings was the One Ring, which was destroyed at the end of 'The Lord of the Rings', and which gave the bearer of the ring the power to rule over every other ring. We can expect an epic battle between the light and the dark as those on the side of light gear up for Sauron and the forces of Mordor. Every race needs to reunite to take on the biggest threat Middle-Earth has ever seen since Melkor (later known as Morgoth) cast his dark shadow over the world.
 

Yes. Amazon worked in association with New Line Cinema, the division of Warner Bros that was behind Jackson's movies, including 'LotR' and 'The Hobbit' trilogies. Apart from this Howard Shore, who scored music for every Jackson-directed Middle-earth movie, has written the theme for 'Rings of Power'.
 

'Rings of Power' cast is absolutely stacked with both well-known performers and new names. It stars Robert Aramayo as Elrond, Morfydd Clark as Galadriel, Charles Edwards as Celebrimbor, Maxim Baldry as Isildur, Owain Arthur as Durin IV, Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Míriel, and so on.
 

As part of Amazon's deal with Tolkien Estate, there is a five-season commitment for the show. It may certainly go up and down and if the series is successful enough, we may get to see spinoff series or movies.