‘Lord of the Rings’ Series at Amazon Casts ‘Game of Thrones’ Alum Joseph Mawle
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Amazon’s upcoming “Lord of the Rings” series has cast Joseph Mawle in a main role, Variety has confirmed with sources.
Mawle joins previously announced cast members Will Poulter and Markella Kavenagh. Official details of Mawle’s characters are being kept under wraps, but sources say he will play a villain named Oren.
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Amazon declined to comment. Reps for Mawle did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.
Mawle is best known to American audiences for playing Benjen Stark on HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” He also recently starred in the series “Troy: Fall of a City” as Odysseus, with his other TV credits including “Ripper Street,” “The Tunnel,” and “MotherFatherSon.”
He is repped by Troika and Anonymous Content.
The “Lord of the Rings” series is being developed by the writing team of JD Payne and Patrick McKay. In addition, “Game of Thrones” alum Bryan Cogman has signed on as a consulting producer on the project with J.A. Bayona set to direct multiple episodes. Amazon gave the series a two-season order when it was first announced.
In addition to those previously mentioned, the show’s full creative team will consist of: executive producers Lindsey Weber, Bruce Richmond, Gene Kelly, and Amazon’s former head of genre programming Sharon Tal Yguado; writer and executive producer Gennifer Hutchison; writer and executive producer Jason Cahill; writer and executive producer Justin Doble; consulting producer Stephany Folsom; producer Ron Ames; writer and co-producer Helen Shang; and writing consultant Glenise Mullins. Bayona will also executive produce along with his partner Belén Atienza.
The series will be produced by Amazon Studios in cooperation with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins, and New Line Cinema, a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment.
Little is known about the plot of the “Lord of the Rings” series beyond the fact it will explore new storylines preceding J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Fellowship of the Ring.” The show’s official Twitter account sent out an image of a map along with the two messages: “One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them, In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie,” as well as “Welcome to the Second Age.” In the Tolkien mythology, the Second Age was the time in which the Rings of Power, including Sauron’s One Ring, came into existence.
Variety exclusively reported on the castings of both Poulter and Kavenagh earlier this year, as well as the news of the series development back in 2017.
Deadline first reported Mawle’s casting.
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