Details about Amazon’s upcoming Lord of the Rings-based show have been few and far between since it was first announced in November of 2017, but recently they’ve picked up the pace…a little bit. That includes establishing an official Facebook page and Twitter account—even though we’ll probably still have to wait until 2020 to see production get visibly underway. And now they’ve thrown down a map for us to pore over…
Dropping information in such dribs and drabs, it’s almost like the folks at Amazon know what they’re doing. In this cyber-age of information, every little crumb they let fall can be obsessed over and talked about endlessly by rabid fans (and critics), allowing anticipation (and apprehension) to grow apace. So we might as well humor them—we’re all nerds here, right?
The truth is, we can’t count on anything, at this point. A while back, TheOneRing.net cited, with some unspecified sources, that the show would “will open its first season centered on a young Aragorn.” Which is definitely cool. I’m obsessed with the possibility of seeing more of the bittersweet story of Aragorn and mother, Gilraen, the daughter of Dírhael, a Dúnadan herself. (Ranger-mom for the win! Even in the Extended Edition of Jackson’s Fellowship of the Ring, we see Aragorn visiting her memorial in Rivendell. How I’d love to get even more insight into that relationship.)
Assuming this report still holds true—and we’ve speculated about that here—the question remains: is the rest of the multi-season TV series going to remain focused on Aragorn, or only the opening season? Will they be plotting this series chronologically, or will they jump around in Tolkien’s timeline?
We also need to realize that Amazon could just be messing with us, when it comes to these rumors. But I will curb my cynicism, roll up my sleeves, and speculate—because it is well and truly fun to do so. Now, in the soft launch of their Facebook page, Amazon’s first post was quoting Tolkien from a letter he wrote to Scottish author Naomi Mitchison while she was proofreading The Lord of the Rings. “I wisely started with a map,” he wrote, as part of his apology for not giving her one to look at while she read. He explained how he preferred to allow his stories to grow from his maps, and not merely what he’d already described. The bottom line being that maps—a consistent geographical layout of his world—were always important to Tolkien.
Given what Amazon has shown us so far, while they begin to drop lines of the famous Ring verse (“Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky…”), it’s hard to draw any solid conclusions about what the show is going to do.
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, pic.twitter.com/Btk2CRsQI2
— The Lord of the Rings on Prime (@LOTRonPrime) February 18, 2019
For instance, Aragorn was born in year 2931 of the Third Age. Yet the Rings of Power (including the One Ring) were made roughly 4,800 years before he ever came along. Moreover, as of the writing of this article, the following regions have been labeled on Amazon’s map of Middle-earth: Eriador, Lindon, Forodwaith, Rhovanion, Mordor, Rhûn, Khand, and Calenardhon. Those are, for the most part, all ancient lands that make it hard to pin down the timeline.
But Calenardhon is more telling. That’s the grassland that will eventually become Rohan, but not until the year 2510, more than four hundred years before the legendary son of Arathorn II shows up. So what’s going on here? Again, is Amazon just messing with us nerds? Or will the show at some point involve the distant past?
At first, I was hoping we’d get some Second Age treatment. Maybe we could see the actual forging of the Rings of Power and, later, the One Ring That Binds them. The famous Ring verse speaks first to those times, after all. But unless Amazon is hiding secret rights to The Silmarillion or other Tolkien resources we don’t know about, this seems highly unlikely. The Appendices of The Lord of the Rings include only scarce details for the First and Second Ages of Middle-earth—they’d have to depart egregiously from Tolkien’s canon to explore them. Sure, they could name-drop Celebrimbor, the Elven-smith who headed Project Rings of Power and personally forged the Three, and they could name the land of Eregion they were made in…but Annatar (Sauron’s alter ego), the one who tricked the Elves into making the Rings in the first place? Nope, that’s not in LotR. And Ost-in-Edhil, the capital city of Eregion where they were made? That’s not in the text either, nor are we told who got what rings and when. That’s mostly all in The Silmarillion, and beyond.
If anyone’s curious to learn more about this stuff (without fully diving into the deeper mythologies of The Silmarillion itself), the last two posts of the Silmarillion Primer are about exactly the people and politics leading up to The Lord of the Rings:
- Twenty Rings, Seven Stones, and Middle-earth’s New Dark Lord
- The Misappropriation of the Rings (and the Third Age)
But let’s go back to Amazon’s map. We’ve got both Rhûn and Harad on there, lands of the South and East, and both are established places that Aragorn travels to during his pre-Fellowship years. They are where he hones his Ranger skills, levels up a lot, gains wisdom and life experience, and fights the good fight against Sauron but without using his name, without revealing to anyone who exactly he is (the heir of Isildur). And he does all this ostensibly to earn his kingship, but also so that he can marry his girlfriend, Arwen. At the Council of Elrond he cites these two realms:
I have had a hard life and a long; and the leagues that lie between here and Gondor are a small part in the count of my journeys. I have crossed many mountains and many rivers, and trodden many plains, even into the far countries of Rhûn and Harad where the stars are strange.
So I say again, I hope that we will go with Aragorn to these heretofore unexplored areas of Tolkien’s world—and that the show proceeds very carefully, because they’ll have to invent a whole lot of detail. With some sense and sensibility, maybe the writers could present to us, on a deeper and more human level, those mysterious lands of the East and South that we’re told in the book were largely under the dominion of Sauron.
Let us see more of what Samwise only glimpses in The Two Towers (in the chapter “Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit”) after witnessing his “first view of a battle of Men against Men.” He looks upon a Southron newly slain by one of Faramir’s crew, and he wonders if the Man “was really evil of heart” or if he’d “really rather have stayed” in his home. It’s one of the best moments in the book, and absolutely one in which we, like Tolkien, know in truth that the Man was not evil, and that he’d been led into war by “lies or threats.” It would be fascinating to see Aragorn in these lands and taking part in any resistance to Sauron’s influence.
Note also just how far east Amazon’s map extends. Most maps are cropped at the Sea of Rhûn, but here we see more forests, rivers, and mountains stretching even further. This really does strengthen the possibility that Aragorn will be shown going out to the east, to places where the stars are strange! Strange is good! Strange is new.
Interestingly, Khand is also labeled, and not much is written about that land, either. We only know that it’s another region under Sauron’s boot—and that Variags from Khand fight in the Dark Lord’s armies at the Battle of Pelennor Fields. (It’s not clear if Variags are simply the people of Khand, or some specific tribe or mercenary group from that land.)
But still….dang it if that label of Calenardhon (early Rohan) doesn’t throw me off. Again, who’s to say this map is meant to be a definitive pinning-down of the timeline this series is going to be stuck with? Maybe there’ll be some scene with young Aragorn in Rivendell, before he learns his true heritage, before he meets Arwen, before his mother has died, and where his surrogate dad (Elrond!) just unrolls a map of Middle-earth as part of some history lesson. And that’s the map they’re showing us here. (“Psych!” says Amazon…).
What do you all think? What are you hoping for?
Jeff LaSala will keep speculating about the Amazon series, but hasn’t given up hope for more about Círdan the Shipwright. He wrote the Silmarillion Primer more recently, a D&D novel (long ago), produced some cyberpunk stories, and now works for Tor Books. He sometimes flits about on Twitter.
Aragorn in the east… Perhaps he’ll cross paths with the mysterious two Blue Wizards over there. That’s a duo I’ve always been curious about.
It’s a big East. :) The trick about such fun little cross-overs is you have to do them tactfully. Like, if Aragorn were to run into those two Istari, it’s probably best that he not know who they are. Else wouldn’t that have likely come up again later with Gandalf? And also…their identities and names as wizards doesn’t get much talk, if any, in LotR. That’s Unfinished Tales talk. I’m so very curious what Amazon has rights to exactly.
Also, even Aragorn doesn’t know what Gandalf is. Pretty sure only Galadriel, Elrond, and Círdan ever really knew (before the end of the Third Age, anyway). I don’t think any mortals knew, which doesn’t mean some couldn’t have guessed. Aragorn more than most.
Thanks for hitting on what they don’t have the rights to. There will be a lot of creating by Amazon no matter what, since they claim they won’t be covering what the movies covered. I’m optimistic.
Thing is, I’m not entirely comfortable with Amazon writers inventing a new version of the story of how the Rings of Power were made and handled. Ideally it would go down like this:
• In the first season, they explore only the recent past, where the source material is at least closely tied with well-known lore. We see some of younger Aragorn’s adventures.
• The Tolkien Estate sees the text is well treated, and they relinquish rights to some more stuff.
• Amazon earns still more trust, showing they have an understanding of Tolkien and treat the world with proper respect.
• The Tolkien Estate yields them more. Númenor!
• Yadda, yadda, yadda…
• Amazon starts to handle The Silmarillion. They learn where to tread, where to tread especially lightly, where to explore deeply, and where to stay hands off.
I did say “ideal.” But honestly there is a point in the mythology where I think it’s best it remains firmly in book form only, and in our imaginations.
I’m reading reports that it’s an old movie tie-in map from 2001, although the fact that they tweeted it means they may be using it as a potential guide.
For the Easterlings, I’d assume you’d do some type of variation on ancient steppe empires and kingdoms – the ones that showed up in the appendices (like the Wainriders and the Balcoth) fit that mold. Not sure on Harad, although they could think of something interest.
The Calaenhardon thing is strange if the focus in on young Aragorn? Maybe it’s a red herring? Maybe it’s a lack of knowledge? Maybe it’s intentional misdirection? Maybe it’s just there to generate online discussion.
But the wider view of Rhun and what appears to be the orocarni is interesting. Though not much detail in can see in the Harad map.
speaking of Harad-one thinh they could do is show the differences between near Harad, far Harad, and Umbar. With the various dark numenorian cultures-the descendants of castamir, the king’s men of ar-Pharazon and the corsairs. Show their interactions with the Haradrim of near Harad and those of far Harad. Not game of thronesy but at least show the Haradrim are not monolithic.
Same with rhun-you can have the easterlings in that really cool armour in the two towers, with citie and towns, while having the more primitive balchoth as nomadic horsemen.
We don’t know much about Harad or Rhun-but the text and the films do give at least an outline so if they are careful any inventions they make can fall within canon possible.
I still maintain the series should be entirely from the POV of Balin (although I don’t think they have the proper rights for that).
@7 Ooh, that would be interesting.
Technically, if you want strange stars, wouldn’t you need to go south rather than east?
@9 Take it up with Varda. :) If Aragorn saw some sort of different starry arrangement in the region of Ilmen, then that’s what he said. Plus, the way he said it, he might only have meant Harad had strange stars. Being in the South.
I bet those world-sailing Númenóreans saw some crazy stars in their day…
@10 I think Aragorn was referring to Harad with that.
Thinking about Tolkien’s favorite time period and his fondness for Anglo-Saxons, maybe that could be the best inspiration.
Easterlings – Avars, Huns, steppe societies in general.
Haradrim – Sassanid Empire but more disunified, maybe with some Phoenician touches (the Oliphaunts). Show the Numenorean influence as well.
Since variags looks like a word related to name for the Vikings that came into English as Varangians, I expect the Variags of Khand are axe-wielding barbarians partially integrated with the indigenous civilization of Khand (whatever that is).
Clearly I won’t get what I’d like to see: untold tales of the Shire. How about Bullroarer Took and the battle of Greenfields? The Fell Winter and the invasion of wolves? What really happened to Frodo’s parents on the Brandywine? The truth behind the scandalous death of Lalia Clayhanger Took? How did Gandalf become friends with Gerontius Took? How did the rivalry between the Bagginses and the Sackville-Bagginses begin?
I have no faith or trust in a multibillion corporation.
Be afraid, be very afraid.
Here’s your series idea:
“[T]he mother of this hobbit—of Bilbo Baggins, that is—was the famous Belladonna Took, one of the three remarkable daughters of the Old Took … [O]nce in a while members of the Took-clan would go and have adventures. They discreetly disappeared, and the family hushed it up; ….
“Not that Belladonna Took ever had any adventures after she became Mrs. Bungo Baggins.” [Emphasis added]
So, three “remarkable” hobbit sisters– a marketing-friendly triad of Belladonna, Donnamira, and Mirabella– at least one of whom was “famous”, who canonically had adventures during the YA phase of their lives. (Hushed up later, which is why we don’t hear about any of it in the Red Book written by Belladonna’s son and his heirs.)
What are they waiting for? (Heck, why is this not already a shojo manga or anime long since?)
The Star Wars fan in me could get very excited about the idea of young Aragorn working with a rebellion against Sauron in the east. It’s a tried-and-true story premise, but it’s one I will pretty much always love. Plus it would allow a lot of creative freedom in developing independent storylines without it interfering with canon. I’ve been pretty “meh” about this series, but if this is the direction they go, count me in!
@11: It’s impossible to avoid influence, but I actually hope the creative team here can actively avoid drawing too many real-world cultural parallels. It can only lead to trouble. This still isn’t Earth as we know it.
@14: Yup, you have to suppress that natural distrust to be optimistic here. For now I choose optimism, because I’m already discouraged about where fantasy has gone in the TV direction ever since The Return of the King. So injecting Tolkien (that is, real Tolkien integrity) back into the mainstream could help counter that. But yeah, it could also all go horribly wrong. We’ll see!
@16: I’d love to see more Shire stories myself, but I think you’re right that it’s not likely they’ll do that. I for one have always wondered about what sort of adventures Gandalf spurred hobbits out the door for before Bilbo. Bilbo remarks that Gandalf is responsible “for so many quiet lads and lasses going offinto the Blue for mad adventures.” What can those be, that still wouldn’t upstage the Quest for Erebor or bring hobbits into the wider world’s cross-hairs like the One Ring eventually did? And I’d sure like to see Old Took’s self-fastening diamond studs…
@17: And the trick is to not allow Aragorn’s experiences in the South and the East to outshine his time in the War of the Ring. In The Lord of the Rings, he’s so valorous right out of the gate. It would be good to see a more daunted young man earn that valor that’s in his blood.
Strange. A few days ago, I09 ran a story with a map that had no names on it. I think they’re keeping us guessing.
I really hope those easterly mountains aren’t the Orocarni. I can’t help but feel they should be much further east. It did take a long time for the Elves to reach the western shore, even allowing for tarrying.
@19, right, initially they posted the map with no labels along with the first line of the Ring verse. Then a couple days later, they quoted the second line, and added some labels. Presumably we’ll see “Nine for Mortal Men, doomed to die” dropped next, with maybe another update of the map. I almost wanted to hold off for that one before doing this article. But there’ll be other opportunities as more information comes out.
@20, it’ll be interesting to see if line by line, the map updates to a more specific time, Calenardhon being replaced by Rohan, then an announcement made after the final ilne.
Some random thoughts.
If Amazon aren’t doing young Aragorn, the Angmar story good could be a good one.
If they do Aragorn, I think they should leave the Blue Wizards out, at least until the rights are released. If that ever happens. Sigh. Anyway, my reasoning for that is that of the two possible outcomes Tolkien mused on, I much prefer the one where they had partial success and my gut feeling is that they are gone by the time of LoTR but their allies/followers remain. There’s no way Aragorn would’ve kept their survival secret from Gandalf if he’d met them. I’d much prefer for the Blue Wizards to be a completely separate story.
I”d like to see Harad. I’d also like if they were depicted as a proud and noble nation, not evil. No problem with the presence of a Sauron cult whispering in the ear of the ruler, exploiting the Gondor/Harad rivalry.
Re: Harad, exactly. That would be an excellent approach. Sauron corrupted Númenor, after all, and he didn’t have to pretend to be someone else (Annatar) to do it, like he had to to trick the Elves (some, anyway).
*2JLaSala: Well technically Aragorn’s journeys into East and South would happen long after he would meet Gandalf, so he would know something about Istari already (though not their real nature) :) as those journeys would be later in the timeline than his first meeting with Gandalf. *4: that indeed would be ‘ideal’ but being overly optimistic is not a good approach :), it’s better to lower expectations, at least if this will turn out good and faithful adaptation we can be pleasantly surprised. Still so far it’s unbelievably vague that we can’t be sure of anything.
“Everyone knows” that Gandalf/Mithrandir/Tharkûn is a “troublemaker”, or “meddler”. It’s well known among the leaders that Gandalf is a wizard, although only a handful of elves know that means he is actually one of the maiar.
…leveled up a lot… :-D :-D :-D
Get ready for a lot of wise-cracking warrior women and old, evil white men.
Aragorn was born in 2931, not 2933. He was 10 when Bilbo and the dwarves came thru Rivendell in 2941 and was known then as Elrond’s foster son, Estel.
Right, 2931. Thanks.
Hah, which makes it kind of funny that Thranduil is already telling Legoas to go seek him out. But they did compress the timelines quite a bit in the movies.
Anyway! Fun speculation, and I also raised an eyebrow at Calenardhon. I guess we’ll see! In some ways them not having the rights could turn out to be a good thing – if it gives them a little more freedom to explore without worrying abou brushing too much agaisnt canon, or purists like me getting all eye twitchy :)
So! An update, though it doesn’t reveal too much more. The addition of Laurelindórenan, the Valley of Songing Gold, in place of Lothlórien (the renaming for which Galadriel’s coming eventually brought about) definitely suggests a much earlier time, but not necessarily so far back as the forging of the Rings of Power. Again, that would likely require Silmarillion rights to handle properly without all-new invention on Amazon’s part.
But this does possibly suggest that the Nandor Elves (early Teleri) and their lord and lady were in charge before Galadriel and Celeborn took over. Hmmm. Laurelindórenan was its name during the days of Eregion and Celebrimbor.
The LOTR series I’d have wanted would have been a semi-anthology series covering the Silmarillion. Episode styles could vary wildly (live action, animation, trippy colors for the creation of the universe part) and maybe directed by different big name directors putting their stamp of each episode while all telling part of the larger story. Maybe the only consistent thing would be retaining the same actors throughout so we could consistently recognize each character despite the different visual styles.
Granted, my only exposure to the Silmarillion is your wonderful series about it here, so I admit this idea might not be a perfect fit. But I guess I just didn’t want to see yet another thing trying to do the exact same thing that the original Jackson trilogy did. (We already saw them try to apply that formula to The Hobbit, and I didn’t think it worked great.)
—Andy
New map is up – with Minas Ithil! So the war to end the Second Age?
Uh. There’s a post on Redditch fantasy with the latest map. I don’t know if it’s legit but it’s got Numenor on it. As in the star shaped island that’s only in Unfinished Tales. Has Amazon got the rights to Unfinished Tales? The Blue Wizards? Maybe more? The Silmarillion? If it’s true my head’s about to explode.
Please don’t be a hoax!
Freakin Numenor!!!!!!!
The map isn’t a hoax, but I wouldn’t call today’s update—which I talk about here—anything more definitive than, hey, Elrond might unroll a map on it that shows Númenor. But who knows, could be more than that.