Amazon's Lord of the Rings show adds Swedish-French director Charlotte Brändström, who has previously directed multiple episodes of Netflix's hit series The Witcher. Brändström will join an international team of directors that includes Spanish filmmaker J.A. Bayona (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) and British-Chinese director Wayne Che Yip. The series, which is currently filming in New Zealand, is led by showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay (Star Trek Beyond).
Though its cast doesn’t include many big names, Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series is shaping up to be a massive venture. Recent reports claim Amazon's budget for season 1 of the show is an estimated $465 million, which is more than the combined budget of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy from the early 2000s. Amazon head Jennifer Salke defended the massive budget, saying it is a “huge world-building show” and the first season needs to “build the infrastructure” for the entire series. While Amazon only ordered 2 seasons of the show, as many as 5 were discussed in the initial deal.
Now, as production on Amazon’s massive Lord of the Rings series rolls on, another member has been added to the creative team. Building on the work of two previous international directors, Charlotte Brändström has been tapped to helm two episodes of the highly-anticipated series. Brändström is known for directing episodes of The Witcher, The Man in the High Castle, Outlander, and most recently Jupiter’s Legacy. Brändström has also directed many feature films in the French language.
“I’m very excited to be guided through Middle-earth by JD’s and Patrick’s vision and immerse myself in the iconic world of J.R.R. Tolkien,” Brändström said in a statement. “There are countless things still to see in Middle-earth, and great works to do,” she added, quoting the ornery dwarf Gimli. Brändström’s quote seems to indicate she is familiar with the source material, and will therefore likely be welcomed by diehard fans with open arms.
Set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, Amazon’s series will be set during the Second Age of Middle-earth's history. Other than that, not much else is known about the show. It will feature characters “both familiar and new,” though not many have been confirmed. However, the synopsis teases the appearance of "the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien's pen," which is likely Sauron. Given its massive scale and new settings such as “the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor,” Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series is guaranteed to be unlike anything fans of Middle-earth have ever seen on screen.
Source: Amazon