Amazon Studios has officially announced that their highly anticipated upcoming series based on J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings will make its premiere on September 2nd, 2022. Streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime Video, the series will take place during the Second Age of Middle-earth, well before the events of the novel and Peter Jackson's acclaimed film trilogy, but will feature a similarly large ensemble cast.

Filming began in New Zealand in February of 2020 and has been ongoing ever since - a particularly grueling and extensive shooting schedule that speaks to the scale of both the series and the production itself. When Amazon purchased the television rights in 2017, the committed to making five seasons worth around a staggering one billion dollars. By its end, the yet-to-be-titled series will be the most expensive television series ever made in history.

The first season will have one episode released each week, similar to the old-school release schedule that Disney+ has done with their original series. It will be developed by showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay. Amazon also shared a first look at the series, as seen below.

Amazon Studios' The Lord of the Rings series premieres September 2nd, 2022 only on Amazon Prime Video