Amazon’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ TV Series Lands ‘Game of Thrones’ Writer-Producer as Consultant
Bryan Cogman, a writer and producer on “Game of Thrones” since its start on HBO in 2011, isn’t taking a break now that the blockbuster fantasy series has aired its final season. Per Variety, Cogman has been officially hired to consult on Amazon’s upcoming “Lord of the Rings” television series. The move is a natural progression for Cogman, as “Thrones” author George R.R. Martin has been vocal about his series being inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterwork.
As previously reported, Amazon’s “Lord of the Rings” series is being written and developed by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay. Cogman will work closely with the writing duo and will serve on the “LOTR” series in a consulting role. Amazon announced last September it had signed an overall deal with Cogman to produce and develop new series.
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Cogman got his start on “Thrones” as the assistant to the show’s showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. Cogman was credited as the screenwriter for 11 episodes of “Thrones” over its eight-season run, first writing the debut season’s fourth episode, “Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things,” and ending with the final season’s second entry, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” widely praised as one of the best episodes of the entire “Thrones” run. Cogman also is writing a live-action remake of “The Sword in the Stone” for Disney’s new streaming service Disney+.
Amazon’s “Lord of the Rings” has yet to announce any specific plot details or casting. The studio confirmed in March the television series will be set in the Second Age of Middle-Earth. The announcement nixed the long-standing rumor that the series would focus on the adventures of a young Aragorn (played by Viggo Mortensen in Peter Jackson’s film trilogy). Aragon was born in the Third Age. Some had believed the series could focus on Aragorn’s predecessor, Prince Eärnur of Gondor, but he too was born in the Third Age.
The Second Age spans 3441 years and ends with the first downfall of Sauron, the primary antagonist of “The Lord of the Rings.” Jackson’s film trilogy begins with a prologue set at the end of the Second Age explaining Sauron’s defeat, so it would appear Amazon’s series will take place in the years where Sauron rises to power. Amazon is pumping $1 billion into its “Lord of the Rings” series but no production start date has been revealed.
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