JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM Director J.A. Bayona Set To Helm Amazon's THE LORD OF THE RINGS Series

JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM Director J.A. Bayona Set To Helm Amazon's THE LORD OF THE RINGS Series

Amazon Studios' upcoming The Lord of the Rings television series has tapped J.A. Bayona (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) to direct the first two episodes of the highly-ambitious Tolkien adaptation...

By RohanPatel - Jul 03, 2019 10:07 AM EST
Filed Under: Lord of the Rings
Source: Deadline
Deadline is reporting that J.A. Bayona has been tapped to direct the first two episodes of Amazon Studios' upcoming The Lord of the Rings television series, which will explore new storylines set before The Fellowship of the Ring. The series has also already secured a multi-season commitment from the streaming giant in a massive nine-figure rights deal with the Tolkien estate. 

Following the announcement, Bayona expressed his excitement in the following statement, “J.R.R. Tolkien created one of the most extraordinary and inspiring stories of all time, and as a lifelong fan it is an honor and a joy to join this amazing team. I can’t wait to take audiences around the world to Middle-earth and have them discover the wonders of the Second Age, with a never before seen story.

Uncredited Star Trek Beyond scribes JD Payne and Patrick McKay created the series and will serve as showrunners, leading a writers room that will also feature the likes of Gennifer Hutchison (Breaking Bad) and Bryan Cogman (Game of Thrones), amongst others.

Bayona most recently helmed Universal's billion-dollar blockbuster Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and his directing credits also feature a number of critical darlings, including The OrphanageThe ImpossibleA Monster Calls, and the first two episodes of Showtime's Penny Dreadful.
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tmp3
tmp3 - 7/3/2019, 10:27 AM
Amazon banking a billion dollars on a show from two unknown writers and a director who works best on smaller projects is a hell of a gamble. Bryan Cogman was a good addition to the writer's team, but maybe I'm on the minority on thinking that.
MrDandy
MrDandy - 7/3/2019, 10:47 AM
@tmp3 - how are they banking a billion. There is no way this show will cost that much
Oberlin4Prez
Oberlin4Prez - 7/3/2019, 10:56 AM
@MrDandy - well they've supposedly committed to a five season run, and stated it would cost a billion dollars. Or maybe it was doll-hairs. Either way, it's gonna be a lot.
LongMayHeReign
LongMayHeReign - 7/3/2019, 11:11 AM
@MrDandy -

"On Nov. 13, Amazon Studios beat out Netflix for a $250 million rights deal with the Tolkien estate, publisher HarperCollins and New Line Cinema that includes a five-season commitment to bring The Lord of the Rings to the small screen. With the clock ticking, Amazon must be in production within two years, according to the terms of the pact. When production expenses like casting, producers and visual effects are factored in, the series is expected to cost north of $1 billion."

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/how-lord-rings-tv-series-landed-at-amazon-not-netflix-1099213
MrDandy
MrDandy - 7/3/2019, 12:15 PM
@LongMayHeReign - yikes! Had no idea the stiff contract obligations and heavy price tag for the rights. Good find. Thanks!
gulducati
gulducati - 7/3/2019, 10:28 AM
Amazon Prime series seem to be very hit and miss, mostly miss imho. I applaud them for doing offbeat stuff like New Gods, Good Omens, etc., but the quality is really not there.
MrDandy
MrDandy - 7/3/2019, 10:54 AM
@gulducati - all the streaming services are hit and miss on content... and they’ve got a lot of good stuff Sneaky Pete, Good Omens, The Man in the High Castle and more
santoanderson
santoanderson - 7/3/2019, 10:28 AM
Before everybody piles on, and calls him a hack because Fallen Kingdom sucked, I think he did the best job he could with the Saturday morning cartoon script he was given. He made the best out of Colin Trevorrow’s shitty writing.

Go watch his previous films and you’ll see that he’s a pretty good choice for LOTR.
MUTO123
MUTO123 - 7/3/2019, 10:30 AM
Polaris
Polaris - 7/3/2019, 10:31 AM
@santoanderson - Exactly! Bayona is an amazing director
BackwardGalaxy
BackwardGalaxy - 7/3/2019, 11:01 AM
@santoanderson - Bayona's brilliance was in recognizing that Trevorrow thought he was writing something serious, but was actually writing shlock. I actually thought he did an amazing job of making that movie a good terrible movie.
Forthas
Forthas - 7/3/2019, 10:31 AM
Lord of the Rings is a Warner Brothers property...soooo why is it not on Warnemdia's streaming service?
tmp3
tmp3 - 7/3/2019, 10:33 AM
@Forthas - This isn't from Warner Bros Television. Amazon paid the Tolkien estate for these rights, and they paid a lot of money for them.
Deklipz
Deklipz - 7/3/2019, 10:33 AM
I'm getting more excited for this every time they make another announcement about it. I just hope I live long enough to see some of these shows and movies coming up.
THEDARKKNIGHT1939
THEDARKKNIGHT1939 - 7/3/2019, 10:38 AM
I had no idea this is the dude that directed A Monster Calls and The Impossible. Those were great movies. Still haven't seen any of the new Jurassic World movies, but apparently Fallen Kingdom is ass.
MUTO123
MUTO123 - 7/3/2019, 10:52 AM
@THEDARKKNIGHT1939 - Yeah. Fallen Kingdom was ass, but I blame the writing way more than him. He was pretty much just a hired gun trying to polish a turd, and you can tell.
Subtlespammer24
Subtlespammer24 - 7/3/2019, 12:21 PM
@THEDARKKNIGHT1939 - Bro it was super assy. In less than 6 months Star Wars and Jurassic Park were dead to me
BigMikeReviews
BigMikeReviews - 7/3/2019, 10:41 AM
Well for what it's worth, visually speaking the second JW was much more cinematic looking than it's predecessor, so the visuals will be nice, let's just hope he gets better scripts to work with
MrDandy
MrDandy - 7/3/2019, 10:46 AM
......yay? I don’t think I’ve seen anything else he’s done but fallen kingdom was garbage
MrDandy
MrDandy - 7/3/2019, 10:51 AM
Oh snap! I just looked it up....he directed a Monster Calls. That’s a great movie and made my top five of that year. Had no idea. Maybe there is hope after all
tmp3
tmp3 - 7/3/2019, 11:13 AM
@MrDandy - Top 10 anime plot twists
Polaris
Polaris - 7/3/2019, 10:47 AM
He's really good at atmosphere, emotion and visuals. I'm sure he'll do great
PAbloYocroNUtS
PAbloYocroNUtS - 7/3/2019, 10:48 AM
Mas mierda para mis cojones
MrDandy
MrDandy - 7/3/2019, 10:48 AM
Honestly, way more excited for Wheel of Time than this and that’s coming from a massive LotR fans
MrDandy
MrDandy - 7/3/2019, 12:16 PM
@PeterCipher - well of course.
Oberlin4Prez
Oberlin4Prez - 7/3/2019, 10:58 AM
F******************ccccccckkkkkkk Me! Why?! Why this guy?
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