^ That was the worst.
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First images from The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
- Thread starter ManaByte
- Start date
Cyberpunkd
Member
He sees that, I see clear Christian pre-determination.
Zeroing
Banned
Definitely a reference to Joan d’arc a real historical figure…
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TaylorSwiftFan
Member
Would you trust modern day corporation to take liberties on something that you love and probably grew up with?
TheInfamousKira
Reseterror Resettler
In most cases, no.
Hardensoul
Member
First episode of Foundation was good but later episodes was meh... I was not expecting the leads were going to be Mary Sues with psychic powers that can sorta see the future. I thought mathematics/science was what can predict the future. Sorry never read the books so not sure if it's accurate canon.
Best thing about the show was the 3 Empire, the actor playing the middle Empire was good.
IDKFA
I am Become Bilbo Baggins
Not sure what Christianity has to do with this? Yes, some Catholic values were added to the world Tolkien created, but the main inspiration was Germanic mythology, especially Anglo-Saxon mythology that was almost all but lost when Christianity made it's way into the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.
Middle-earth is based on that world of Germanic myth, of tales such as Beauwulf and also Germanic/Angelo Saxon history. You can see this with the names of characters and locations being based on old English language. Rohan for example, is based on the Angelo Saxon kingdom of Mercia. Even the language of Rohan is based the Mercia dialect of old English.
captainnapalm
Member
There's an entire wikipedia page about the Christian allusions and references in Tolkien's work. He was a devout Christian and called The Lord of the Rings "a fundamentally religious work".
IDKFA
I am Become Bilbo Baggins
It has Christian values and themes through the story and certain characters. But I'm talking about the make-up of the world, the people, the mythology, the language, the traditions etc. That is based on Germanic mythology and history.
The showrunners have zero previous credits:
John D. Payne | Writer, Producer, Script and Continuity Department
Known for: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Escape, Flash Gordonwww.imdb.com
Patrick McKay | Writer, Producer, Script and Continuity Department
Known for: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Escape, Flash Gordon
This is a big corpo project run by committee. It has an enormous budget, and there is no one at the helm to ensure it takes risks or respects the source material above other concerns. There's zero chance it will be good.
The writers, McKay at least, sound a little too sure of themselves considering their lack of writing experience.
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IDKFA
I am Become Bilbo Baggins
I heard JJ Abrams put in a good word for them. That's pretty much it as far as I know.
BadBurger
Is 'That Pure Potato'
It already looks and sounds like the creators have no intent on actually adapting the source. I suppose the stewardship of this material truly did end with Christopher.
Bleh, what a shame. As a huge Tolkien fan I was looking forward to it. Now it's just something I may scan through while drunk and bored.
Bleh, what a shame. As a huge Tolkien fan I was looking forward to it. Now it's just something I may scan through while drunk and bored.
Cockles & Whelks
Banned
They need a button on series 2.
"SKIP NON-EMPIRE SCENES"
Same way Clownbrahams got to write and direct two Star Wars movies.
I read a good article about why Kurtzman etc get so many prime gigs, and one of the reasons was they are extremely fast writers so can pump out the volume needed. Why do you think so many announcements are made for movies with only a one or two year window to start production? They get these clowns in who can blitz out those scripts. Quality isn't necessary in Tinseltown.
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IDKFA
I am Become Bilbo Baggins
“It felt only natural to us that an adaptation of Tolkien’s work would reflect what the world actually looks like.”
Doesn't sound promising does it.
sol_bad
Member
‘Lord of the Rings’: Amazon Taps ‘Star Trek 4’ Duo to Develop TV Series
'Lord of the Rings': Amazon has hired JD Payne and Patrick McKay to develop the TV series.
www.hollywoodreporter.com
Looks like they have been trying to break into the industry for years and had a few Lucky breaks.
Ulysses 31
Member
I got a feeling this will be a gold mine for yt creators the coming years. 
To my understanding, Amazon must make 5 seasons regardless how well the show does.
To my understanding, Amazon must make 5 seasons regardless how well the show does.
IDKFA
I am Become Bilbo Baggins
I got a feeling this will be a gold mine for yt creators the coming years.
To my understanding, Amazon must make 5 seasons regardless how well the show does.
Surly there must be some sort of get out clause. If it turns out shit and it doesn't get decent numbers, why would Amazon waste more money and effort on it?
If they can't get out of it then it'll be funny if the series turns out to be DOA.
BlackTron
Member
That's even worse.
Cockles & Whelks
Banned
"adapted the Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt feature Jungle Cruise for Disney."
Christ, that movie was the epitome of generic, a flat boring The Mummy rip-off. So by the numbers, it should have been a colouring book.
Christ, that movie was the epitome of generic, a flat boring The Mummy rip-off. So by the numbers, it should have been a colouring book.
lifa-cobex
Member
Nailed it
Punished Miku
Gold Member
I'm going to give it a chance. I'm not expecting anything better than a sci-fi channel show.
LOTR is not getting better movies than we got, ever. It's probably never getting another television show ever again with this kind of budget. It's not getting any more books. Other than video games, this is literally the last chance for the IP. The only benefit they have is that TV is longer form than the movies, so hopefully they can take some advantage of that. I'm not expecting the effects or visuals to rival the movies. The only thing that will make or break this show is the writing.
LOTR is not getting better movies than we got, ever. It's probably never getting another television show ever again with this kind of budget. It's not getting any more books. Other than video games, this is literally the last chance for the IP. The only benefit they have is that TV is longer form than the movies, so hopefully they can take some advantage of that. I'm not expecting the effects or visuals to rival the movies. The only thing that will make or break this show is the writing.
8bitpill
Member
Alx
Member
Tom Bombadil.
Werewolf Jones
Gold Member
One thing is clear about this though, with Amazon money backing the production values are gonna be insane.
DeafTourette
Perpetually Offended
I remember when this was first announced and the first castings... Folks were bitching about black hobbits. So yes, they were complaining about POC in the show.
Ironbunny
Member
Looking at how Wheel of time turned out I'd say its no guarantee.
sw0mp_d0nk3y
Member
Exactly. Gennifer Hutchinson has written for Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and X-Files. You can't get much better TV writing cred then that. Then there is also Bryan Cogman from Game of Thrones, no slouch. Justin Doble wrote for Stranger Things and The Path, reasonably good shows, so he might be fine. You're right though, the writer who wrote 5 episodes of Breaking Bad is the one who inspires most of my confidence, for good reason.
sw0mp_d0nk3y
Member
Joanna Robinson
@jowrotethis
"Anyone who knows me knows how much I love LOTR and so how nervous and skeptical I would have been of this project. I’ve seen the first few episodes and I was braced to hate it but kids I did not hate it. I loved it. "
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An anachronistic "placed out of time" Bombadil isn't a bad way to visually depict the weird sort of demigod like thing he was. Kinda like Will Smith in that one film, IIRC (Winters Tale, I think).
Anyway, their choices will either work and be praised or fail spectacularly and still be praised because that's what critics must do these days.
GymWolf
Member
I heard from literally anyone that wheel of time has shit production values...
Azurro
Banned
So? People would complain if somebody casted a chinese guy to play Spawn. It's disrespectful to the source material.
What's next? Will they depict trans elves and gender fluid dwarfs?
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TVexperto
Member
this is what surprises me most. how does a no name guy get in touch with amazon and let him give so much money creating the most expensive tv show on the most beloved franchise ever with such deep lore?
BigBooper
Member
I predict a ton of symmetrical shots of one person staring at the camera.
rubik's dude
Member
It's not the same at all. None of the established characters have been race or gender swapped, and nowhere in any of the books does it say that dwarves, elves, and humans can only be white.
And who are we to say that the source material is being disrespected, when the Tolkien Estate and Tolkien Trust are alright with it?
Trimesh
Banned
I thought all dwarves had beards anyway? How do you tell if they are "genderfluid"?
Mattdaddy
Gold Member
That is one highly punchable face
Azurro
Banned
You know how you know someone is gender fluid? No need to find out, they will tell you.
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IDKFA
I am Become Bilbo Baggins
Few things to unpack here.
Elves are described as fair skinned/pale in the lore. Not to mention that since dwarves and elves are creatures of Germanic mythology, the books are heavily modeled on mythology and history from early Germanic Europe and Anglo Saxon England, and all prior official art of dwarves, Elves and hobbits (art by Alan Lee for example), which was signed off by the Tolkien estate, and presumably Christopher Tolkien (especially for the art that came with the books Christopher finished) as well all show them as white. There are non white people in Tolkien's world that live to the east, but not in the part of the world where the main stories take place.
A few years ago there was a big debate as to if Tolkien was racist. The argument was that since the only non white people in Tolkien's writings were the "bad guys" who sided with Sauron, then therefore Tolkien was racist. There was also the ludicrous argument with the Orcs. However, Tolkien (as far as we know anyway) wasn't racist because he didn't make his world all multiracial. He just wanted to write his own mythology, which just happened to be based on his love for Germanic languages, mythology and history.
In terms of the Tolkien estate signing off on these new characters, I'm sure the obscene amount of money had some part to play in this, that and telling Amazon not to make the world look like 21st century USA would mean the estate would face the wrath of the social media mob.
