‘Lord of the Rings’ Cast, Creators Deny ‘Game of Thrones’ Rivalry
Game of Thrones began in 2011 and overlapped the Hobbit trilogy which was in theaters as new seasons of Game of Thrones aired on HBO. This is the first time The Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones are going head to head on television. House of the Dragon premieres in August and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power in September, but the cast and creators of the latter insist they have no rivalry.
Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power cast members Robert Aramayo and Cynthia Addai-Robinson were on a Television Critics Association panel with their co-stars and producers J.D. Payne, Patrick McKay and Lindsey Weber on Aug. 12. They nipped that Game of Thrones rivalry in the bud. House of the Dragon premieres Aug. 19 on HBO Max and The Rings of Power Sept. 2 on Prime Video.
Robert Aramayo was in both ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’
Aramayo played young Ned Stark in Game of Thrones flashbacks. Now he plays young Elrond thousands of years before The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Aramayo denied there was any rivalry between shows.
“I don’t feel rivalry, not from me anyway,” Aramayo said. “And I don’t think from any of those or any of them. I’m really excited to see the show. It’s going to be awesome. I love that world, I love this world but I feel personally like the tapestry and the colors of both materials are so different. It feels quite different to me but yeah, it’s great. With fantasy, I love fantasy. Now we just get to watch more fantasy, which can’t be a bad thing.”
‘Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ producers are rooting for ‘Game of Thrones’ too
Lifelong writing partners Payne and McKay have spent the last few years immersed in J.R.R. Tolkien to come up with a new story for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. As fans of the genre, they are equally excited to see what Game of Thrones has in store with House of the Dragon.
“For there to be rivalry there has to be animosity and there’s absolutely none with us,” Payne said. “We wish everyone well and are excited that there’s good storytelling out there.”
Producer Weber added that this is a good time for fans of the genre as there are high profile shows in both universes unfolding simultaneously. HBO is also developing a Jon Snow sequel.
“The more good TV the better it is for all of us,” Weber said. “We’re really excited to see what happens and what they do. I can’t wait.”
The cast supports both fantasy shows
Addai-Robinson plays Queen Regent Miriel of Numenor, who has been mentioned in The Silmarillion. She is confident there’s room for both Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and Game of Thrones on television.
We as a cast got to see the first three episodes all together which was really lovely. One thing that really struck me was it felt very distinct. I truly felt as we watched the show there isn’t anything like this on right now. This doesn’t look like anything that’s come before. We really get to stand on our own two feet with this one. That sense of rivalry, I feel like, is something that’s just generated. None of us feel that way. We really don’t take that view. If you’re a fan of fantasy or just good storytelling, this is a boom time for you. You just get lots of good shows, lots of good stories.
Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Television Critics Association panel, 8/12/22
Her co-stars had more pragmatic views on the Game of Thrones prequel. Morfydd Clark plays Galadriel as a young warrior elf on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
“I just see other actors in armor and think that looks heavy,” Clark said.
Lloyd Owen shared Clark’s interest in Game of Thrones/House of the Dragon armor. He plays Elendil, a human warrior on Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
“I just wonder if their armor is squeaky,” Owen said. “That’s my concern. Mine’s squeaky.”
