Lord of the Rings series

But as might be the case with "House of the Dragon," a prequel series to a beloved fantasy property might spook off newcomers unfamiliar with the original ...

The showrunners for "Rings of Power" are J.D. Of course, Elves are immortal in Tolkien's world, and their participation in Second Age events was canonized in "The Silmarillion." There are Dwarves, too -- King Durin III and his brood -- who live in prosperity in the city of Moria before an unfortunate encounter with a (It's worth noting that Tolkien's son made these comments around the release of Jackson's first "Hobbit" film, which received far more middling reviews than his first three films in Middle-earth.) Oh, and don't expect immediate resolution to the series' storylines -- Payne told Amazon's cast list is exhaustive (but notably missing a few names, including that of the unknown actor thought to play Sauron). Whether you've pored over "The Silmarillion" repeatedly in advance of the new show or you don't know the difference between an Orc and an Ent (one's a goblinesque monster and the other is a talking, walking tree creature, for the record), here's what you need to know before you watch "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power." She's back in the prequel, this time played by Morfydd Clark, and by the looks we've gotten of her in the trailers, she's just returned from battle when we catch up with her. We may or may not get to see the Lord of the Rings himself in his corporeal form -- Amazon is keeping mum on how he'll appear in the series, but he'll undoubtedly loom large over it. It's likely meant to be presented as a fictional historical account written by several authors -- possibly including one Bilbo Baggins -- that covers everything from the origin of Tolkien's world to its later ages. , the action is set in Middle-earth's Second Age, "thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Now is the Tolkienites' time to geek out --

The new Amazon Prime series based on the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien is rated TV-14.

The first two episodes of “The Rings of Power” introduced some frightening creatures and menacing characters. This series is not based on a Tolkien book, but on the six-part “appendices” about Middle-earth history that follow his book “Return of the King.” The so-far mild sexual innuendo and references will likely pass over kids’ heads. The entire series is expected to cost more than $1 billion. But there are some familiar elves — notably Galadriel — and evil forces we’re all too familiar with. Amazon paid $250 million for the rights, and that’s just the beginning.