‘Lord of the Rings’ TV Show Reveals Full Title and Premise

Since it’s been announced, Amazon has promoted its upcoming series based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth novels as a Lord of the Rings show. But that’s not quite right; it does not adapt the story from The Lord of the Rings trilogy of books. It’s not simply retelling the events of the Peter Jackson movies. Instead, it is a prequel set many years before The Lord of the Rings books and films. So even though it was always referred to as “The Lord of the Rings,” it really needed a different title.

Today, Prime Video revealed what that title is. Officially, per this announcement video below, it’s called The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power..

Here is the show’s official synopsis:

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.

In a statement, via THR, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay said that their show is about “all the major stories of Middle-earth’s Second Age” including the rise of Sauron, the creation of the rings, and “the Last Alliance of Elves and Men.” Where The Lord of the Rings had just one ring (that would be, uh, the One Ring), this new series will have many. It’s like the say: One ring isn’t cool, you know what’s cool? A ton of rings.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premieres on Prime Video on September 2, 2022.