Prime's Tolkien Series is delayed, but is that what I think it is?!

 Scrolling Twitter in the morning, as I do, I came across the Tweet below and preceded to lose my shit for a few minutes. (If the Tweets in this post don't automatically load, give it a few minutes.)

On September 2, 2022, a new journey begins. pic.twitter.com/9tnR7WqDoA

— The Lord of the Rings on Prime (@LOTRonPrime) August 2, 2021

Since I'm currently alone in the house and my cat doesn't care, I will have to share my thoughts with you all here! So, a few things!

Prime's Tolkien Series Delayed

Amazon Prime's series based on Tolkien's work is officially delayed by a year. This series was first announced in 2017 at which point I had fears, mostly. Do I trust them? I don't know yet. Since then there have been occasional updates as new cast-members get added etc. It was also announced that the first (of hopefully many) seasons would have a pricetag of $450 million, which is a lot, even in a world of HBO's Game of Thrones. That's the budget of an Avengers' film. 

This delay makes sense. Like everything and everyone else, filming for Prime's series had to halt in 2020 due to COVID-19. They started filming again in late 2020, but since their story takes place in an earlier, more mythological time, I imagine there will have to be quite a lot of post-production work. My personal hope is that we're leaning more towards The Lord of the Rings-kind of CGI. For now, our new date is the 22nd of September 2022, which means it'll be a late birthday present for me, which is lovely of Amazon Prime.

While their Twitter account is still named 'The Lord of the Rings on Prime' I'm not calling it that because they are not working on The Lord of the Rings. You will see many websites, even those who should know better, say this is an adaptation of/twist on/prequel to The Lord of the Rings, which is set at the end of the Third Age. While  I appreciate that for a wider audience this is what they know from Tolkien and this is what lets them connect to this new project it is, in fact, incorrect. What Prime actually has the rights to is the Second Age of Tolkien's Middle-earth history, which is described, at length, in The Silmarillion. 

What is The Silmarillion?

Great question! It's a weird thing, quite honestly. Throughout his life and throughout his work on The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien was expanding his Middle-earth. He wrote background lore; he wrote creation stories for the Earth, for Elves, for Dwarves and for men; he created a cast of deities; he wrote epic battles and utter tragedies. And this was never really a "book" in its own right. We see glimpses of these stories in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, for example when Aragon tells the tale of Beren and Luthien/Tinuviel, which is told in full in The Silmarillion.

When J.R.R. Tolkien died, his son Christopher became his literary heir. He is the one who eventually collected many of his father's tales, shaped them into something slightly cohesive (as cohesive as myth can be) and published it as The Silmarillion. While it is occasionally contested within Tolkien-scholarship, The Silmarillion has a solid place in the Tolkien canon and is beloved by many fans. It isn't an easy read, though, and if The Lord of the Rings, with its many names, historical tone, mythological overtones, etc. was too much for you than The Silmarillion will be as well. 

So what will this series be about?

Here is the original synopsis:

Key to note is that we will meet the 'island kingdom of Numenor'. I'm going into the story of this below, so if you don't want to be spoiled, skip to the What is this? section!

Ok, spoiler warning aside, let's get into Númenor! It is the Second Age and Men need a home. The island Elenna is raised by the Gods and the Númenóreans make it their home. They build a great civilization there, with temples and palaces and more, but greed and pride begins to creep into the island, along with an unwelcome guest. Disaster eventually befalls the island of Elenna (think Atlantis!) and only a few Men, led by Elendil, get away. And yes, he is Aragorn's ancestor! So this all takes place in the Second Age, in which, incidentally, Sauron creates the One Ring which causes all the drama in The Lord of the Rings. Is this why they keep insisting on calling it ' The Lord of the Rings on Prime'? Perhaps. Still not a fan of that.

What is this?

What you're seeing here, at the most basic level, is a city, a person and something in the background. Thankfully I wasn't the only one who Zoomed in 

Is that what I think it is!? pic.twitter.com/eWDdMQHUEN

— Qurantino (@AlternativeMov3) August 2, 2021

So where is this? And what are those? What you see in the background are two, shining trees that have caused many Tolkien fans, moi included, to lose their mind. Those are the Trees of Valinor, Laurelin (the Gold Tree) and Telperion (the Silver Tree). They brought light into Valinor and were created by the deity Yavanna, who sang them into existence. They are not only a source of light, they are also something of a source of contention. I cannot wait to see them on the screen. They are mythological and are meant to be beautiful, so Prime better get this right! One concern, however? The Trees are no longer present in the Second Age.

Time for a map, no?

Going with the city in the image being Tirion (city of the Noldor). Looks more geographically correct with the mountains on either side. pic.twitter.com/sTZYbNxljX

— The Nerd of the Rings (@nerdoftherings1) August 2, 2021

 On the left you can see our Trees and on the right a mountain-range, with a city called Tirion peeking out. Tirion, or Tirion upon Túna, is most likely the city we are seeing in this shot. Tirion is the location for a lot of First Age, Elven drama and I wonder whether we're going to get a peek at this. In order to fully understand the tale of the Númenóreans it might help. Considering we're meant to get 20 episodes (thanks for the info Shippey!) I'd say they have enough time to really world-build. 

Key take aways here are that the Trees of Valinor are no longer present in the Second Age and the city of Tirion isnt mentioned as a location in the series' synopsis. What this means is that we are getting flashbacks, or perhaps an explanatory prologue, in Prime's series! And I love me a good flashback or explanatory prologue! 

What are your thoughts on this still? And on the series overall? I'm cautiously excited and am starting my The Silmarillion re-read ASAP!