The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power showrunner Patrick McKay clarifies the show's connection to J.R.R. Tolkien's source material. The Rings of Power is set to mark a return to Tolkien's vast fantasy world of Middle-earth when it releases this fall. The show, which also features J.D. Payne as showrunner, takes place in the Second Age, thousands of years before the events of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and chronicles the rise of evil in a previously prosperous time.
While several characters like Galadriel (Morfydd Clarke) and Elrond (Robert Aramayo) will already be familiar to fans of Tolkien's books or Jackson's films, The Rings of Power features an entirely new cast. Previous The Rings of Power trailer have already teased some of what's to come in the highly-anticipated series, including sprawling Middle-earth natural landscapes, vast cities, and impressive practical sets and effects. Although The Rings of Power isn't a direct adaptation of one of Tolkien's novels, the show has previously been said to pull heavily from The Lord of the Rings books, in which Tolkien describes some of the events and characters of the Second Age.
Now, at the Television Critic Association's semi-annual press tour (as per THR), McKay clarifies just how connected The Rings of Power really is to Tolkien's original work. After a reporter at the event mentioned that the show was "vaguely connected" to Tolkien's novels, McKay took issue with the statement, asserting that The Rings of Power is actually "deeply rooted" in the author's work. McKay elaborates, saying that he and Payne are merely stewards of Tolkien's source material and that the story they are telling has been in the author's books all along. Check out McKay's full comment below:
“I just want to sort of quibble with the ‘vaguely connected.’ We don’t feel that way. We feel like deep roots of this show are in the books and in Tolkien. And if we didn’t feel that way, we’d all be terrified to sit up here. We feel that this story isn’t ours. It’s a story we’re stewarding that was here before us and was waiting in those books to be on Earth. We don’t feel ‘vaguely connected.’ We feel deeply, deeply connected to those folks and work every day to even be closer connected. That’s really how we think about it.”
McKay's comments are significant as, considering how beloved the source material is and the fact that The Rings of Power's reported budget makes it the most expensive show ever made, audience expectations are high. When it was announced that The Rings of Power would take place thousands of years before Tolkien's books, many worried that the show would repeat a mistake made by Game of Thrones only several years ago. Famously, the last few seasons of Game of Thrones were not adapted from any of George R. R. Martin's original books and were widely criticized by fans, making it understandable that many feared the same would happen with The Rings of Power.
The verdict is still out on whether The Rings of Power is a worthy adaptation of Tolkien's source material, but McKay's most recent comment is sure to ease some concern regarding the show's relationship to The Lord of the Rings source material. Although finer story details for the Second Age of Middle-earth aren't present in any of Tolkien's books, McKay's comment suggests that staying true to the author's world and vision was of the utmost importance throughout the entire process of making the show. Thankfully, viewers don't have much longer to wait before they can see The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power for themselves, with the show set to premiere early next month.
Source: THR