‘Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ Has Epic Action in Every Episode, Creators Promise
The Lord of the Rings movies packed their three-hour run times with epic action, and even more in the extended editions. The Prime Video series Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has 10 hours to explore Middle-earth. Can every Rings of Power episode have as much action? Or will it just spend more time living with the characters? The creators promise action every week.
Creators J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, and Executive Producer Lindsey Weber, spoke with Showbiz Cheat Sheet on Aug. 13. Here’s how the series will deliver epic action in every hour of storytelling. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premieres Sept. 2 on Prime Video.
Every ‘Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ episode has action
Trailers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power show thrilling battles on par with the movies. Trailers only last a few minutes, though. That action could be spread over a whole season. However, McKay promises action in “every episode” and Weber confirms.
“It only gets bigger and bigger,” Weber told Showbiz Cheat Sheet. “I kept waiting for the one where people sit around and talk and it never comes. There’s talking and some, I think, very finely acted talking and very lovely writing of talking but yes, the story of season 1 just called for an enormous amount of work on locations and with special effects and visual effects and stunts and prosthetics. Yes, indeed, a lot of action. Horseplay, swordplay, swimming, diving, I could go on. Climbing, all sorts of stuff so it’s never a dull moment.”
There’s room for action and character in a ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ episode
In The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power you’ll meet young Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Elrond (Robert Aramayo). You’ll also get to know a lot of new characters, and see them in action.
“I dare say, the show works in such a way that like any of these streaming shows that we, as audience members, love, your engagement with the characters accrues slowly,” McKay said. “I think you’ll hopefully find if you keep watching that as the series goes on and you’re in the third episode and the fourth episode and the fifth episode, the world is still building out and there’s still, as you say, a lot of action and hopefully epic scope but you’re connecting more and more with the people. Hopefully, that really pays off in the latter episode. We hope and think it does.”
It’s the best of both worlds
A major difference between films and ongoing television is that even a three hour film is a concise one shot. A multi-episode series gives you time to live with the characters. Payne considers The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power a hybrid
“In some ways, it’s a little bit of a new form really where it brings together the storytelling of longform series but also the scope and the production value of big Hollywood tentpole blockbusters,” Payne said. “Really each episode is a massive undertaking but one we’re excited for audiences to experience.”
