Is Amazon Prime Video's 'Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' the most expensive show ever made?
Up until Amazon Prime Videos greenlit 'Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power', Marvel and Disney+ shows were looked at as the most expensive shows ever made with a massive budget of $25 million per episode. Now, the fantasy series pips the superhero franchise and HBO's 'Game of Thrones' as the most expensive show ever made. Success isn't guaranteed, but at first glance, 'Power of the Rings' looks every bit like the money that was spent.
Ahead of the season premiere on September 1, 2022, the show developed by showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay, is making waves alongside the 'GoT' prequel 'House of the Dragon' that's slated to release on August 21 on HBO. Comparison is inevitable considering these two are the biggest shows of the year and on that note, we look at the money that went into the making of the much-awaited Prime show.
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Is 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' the most expensive show ever made?
Five years of development comes at a cost and 'The Rings of Power' at $1 billion will be the most expensive show ever made. Time's Eliana Dockterman in her elaborate and in-depth featurette for the outlet confirms it by saying that no other studios pulled off the feat with substantial external pressure. Talking to Dockterman, Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, was all but excited. “The jewels of the crown are the big tentpole shows that invite in the whole family. And this is the crown jewel,” she said.
The site also suggests that it's not necessarily a show that may end up breaking records. However, 'The Lord of the Rings' was one such intellectual property that was untouched and the streaming giant pretty much hedged all its bets on one show that may or may not tank.
The official logline reads, "Set thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, the series is based on author JRR Tolkien's history of Middle-earth. It begins during a time of relative peace and covers all the major events of Middle-earth's Second Age: the forging of the Rings of Power, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, the fall of the island kingdom of Númenor, and the last alliance between Elves and Men. These events take place over thousands of years in Tolkien's original stories but are condensed for the series."
'The Lord of the Rings: 'The Rings of Power' premieres September 1, 2022, on Amazon Prime Video.