Amazon has completed what I assume is just the first phase of its Middle-earth teasing, walking through the famous Ring verse on its The Lord of the Rings on Prime Facebook page. First they threw down an unlabeled map of Middle-earth (“Three Rings for the Elven-kings…”); then three days later we got a few basic region names thrown down (“Seven for the Dwarf-lords…”); then seven days later we got a few extra labels, like future Lothlórien (“Nine for Mortal Men…”); then nine days later we got a slew of Gondor- and Arnor-specific cities and towers and even Sauron’s fortress of Barad-dûr “(“One for the Dark Lord…”). All of these updates have really only suggested a focus on the Third Age in a much earlier time, well before Aragorn’s time.
Now, one day later, the new map they’ve posted pans waaaay back to reveal something big: more than just Middle-earth (the mainland continent) but a wider swath of Arda, the world itself.
It’s important to note that today’s reveal didn’t just drop more names onto the existing map. Rather, it’s a different map altogether. It’s how things looked before Ilúvatar, the singular god of Tolkien’s legendarium, “showed forth his power…and changed the fashion of the world.” It’s when Flat Arda became a freakin’ globe at last. (#ResearchFlatArda) And it’s when those Undying Lands the Elves are always pining after were straight-up lifted out of geographic reach.
So yeah, we’re seeing the Second Age before all that, before the drowning of Númenor. Because gosh-darn it, there it is: Westernesse itself. Anadûnê. Númenor! Look at it there, still safely rooted in the Great Sea, Belegaer.
Welcome to the Second Age: https://t.co/Tamd0oRgTw
— The Lord of the Rings on Prime (@LOTRonPrime) March 7, 2019
Does this mean that Amazon will actually set their story during the Second Age, maybe show us of the forging of the Rings of Power, the heyday of Númenor, and Númenor’s inevitable fall? We don’t know, of course. But probably…not?
There has been no news of Amazon getting the rights to The Silmarillion, or any of the History of Middle-earth books, or really anything outside of The Lord of the Rings, so any treatment of the Second Age would require them to ignore the mother lode of remarkable stories and lore about that time that J.R.R. Tolkien did write. They’d have to work only from the scarce information provided in the Appendices of LotR, and then just make up replacement events. Which would be a terrible thing. I think filling in gaps by inventing new stories can work, but replacing what already exists would be grievous indeed. Appendix A gives readers a crash course version of Númenor—lots of kingly names, but a lot of missing drama.
The fact that the map shows us Númenor is intriguing, there’s no question! That map doesn’t exist in The Lord of the Rings (or at least not in any edition I know), so I do wonder if it’s possible they can have rights to just a map without all the text that goes with it? Note the labels on the island itself; of all those, only Meneltarma (the mountain at the middle) gets named in Appendix A. So what gives?
Then, back on Middle-earth, this new map includes Eregion, a nation of Elves founded by the remnants of the Noldor who didn’t all go back to the Undying Lands at the end of the First Age. This is where Galadriel and Celeborn are hanging out, as well as Celebrimbor, the Elf who heads up the ringmaking project—and is hoodwinked by Sauron into doing so in the first place. It’s also where the Elves actually got along with the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm (Moria) for a good long while.
My running theory is that Númenor will simply be talked about, a lot. They’re not showing us this stuff for nothing. All the events of the Third Age are impacted mightily by what happens in the Second Age—namely, the creation of the Rings of Power (especially the One Ring) and the “return of the Kings of Men to Middle-earth.” That is, once Númenor sinks, it’s the survivors—the Faithful, the Dúnedain, the Men who were gifted with long life and supernatural skill—who come back to mortal lands and settle there for good. There they establish the kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor. They are headed by Elendil the Tall and his sons, Isildur and Anárion. And, well, you probably know the rest…
Those great kingdoms, like the Elves themselves, eventually fade with time so that by the War of the Ring they’re just a remnant of what they once were. The landscape of Middle-earth, by that time, is filled with ruins of their ancient glory.
So we’re still not sure what Amazon is up to, but we’ve got lots of data points to occupy us until they finally show us how it all fits together, don’t we? Today’s map-sharing came with the message “Welcome to the Second Age.” So it does feel like the rumor that the series will focus on the adventures of young Aragorn are just that, or maybe he’ll just be one piece of a larger whole. Maybe it’ll be less about King Elessar and more about where he came from, and his ancestry.
Hey, am I the only who wants to see the forging of Narsil by the Dwarf Telchar of Nogrod, whenever the heck that actually was? Anyone else?
But still…what if? What if Amazon is being sneaky, and they’ve secured more rights than they’re letting on. Maybe they’ve got rights to draw material out of Unfinished Tales, that totally amazing book of Tolkien lore that was the first to give us a behind-the-scenes look at both The Lord of the Rings and the legendarium of which The Silmarillion itself was but a part. Unfinished Tales does include that map of Númenor and a whole bunch more.
Another little detail I noticed on today’s map: Amon Lanc. It’s in the southwest corner of the great forest that will be known as Greenwood the Great and then Mirkwood. Amon Lanc means “the Naked Hill,” and it’s is where the fortress of Dol Guldur will one day rise. You know, that haunted place where Sauron puts on a pair of Groucho glasses, lies low under an assumed name (the Necromancer), and nurses his wounds after losing his precious Ring. Anyway, Amon Lanc is never named in The Lord of the Rings, but it does get a few mentions in Unfinished Tales.
So, whether we get the Second Age in actuality, or only in flashbacks, or even only in dialogue, we’re getting something there. What are you hoping to see? More importantly, what am I missing here?
Jeff LaSala is fully responsible for the Silmarillion Primer. Tolkien fandom aside, he wrote a D&D novel (long ago), produced some cyberpunk stories, and now works for Tor Books. He sometimes flits about on Twitter.
I think it’s more likely that Amazon tossed out a bucket of money and licensed the entire Tolkien body of works. The Lord of the Rings works just fine for swaths of the 2nd Age as it does for the later time. And if you focus on effectively immortal main characters, the story could span millennia.
I’m hoping for stories about and around the Downfall of Numenor. I’m not as versed as some in what info is found where, but there’s got to be a lot than can be built from even brief mentions which doesn’t retcon canon. The persecution of the Elf-Friends. Ar-Gimilzor and Tar-Miriel. Tar-Palantir. Ar-Pharazon and the “humbling” of Sauron. Young(!) Isildur retrieving a fruit from Nimloth. So much more…
Here’s hoping Amazon, with its infinite cash reserves, did indeed lock up the rights to the Silmarillion. Let’s get this going, folks. Num-en-or! Num-en-or! Num-en-or!
!!!!!
I just recently read The Silmarillion again, and in particular, the Akallabeth… so Numenor is refreshed in my brain. I’d be REAL intrigued to see if Amazon does in fact have access to that material now. I’d love to see an Akallabeth-based miniseries. :D
It’s odd. Part of me is of course excited at leas the prospect of a Silmarillion-based story of any kind. But the other part is more excited that it would bring more people to discover the actual book. A greater win, in my view.
Also, I’ve noticed that the Tolkien Professor, Corey Olsen, hasn’t publicly said too much about the Amazon show in a long time. Fingers are crossed that this means he’s involved somehow. Because I desperately want someone who gets Tolkien to be as involved as possible.
@5: Maybe wishful thinking on my part, but I hope you’re right. Olsen did tweet at them plenty in the early stages, and he’s probably the most prominent fan/scholar who hasn’t reacted to the recent slew of map tweets. So, yeah. It would be nice to his voice–among others–involved. I don’t think I’ll ever be 100% comfortable with Amazon and *waves hands at myriad issues* but since this is happening, it might as well be good.
Can somebody answer if Amazon has the rights to the Silmarillion? Yes or no? I thought they didn’t, but these maps are making me crazy.
I know the whole thing is shrouded in secrecy but how closely is the Tolkien Estate involved? And is it possible for the Estate to allow material to be used without signing away the rights? Or to put it more cynically, is the Estate about to make a huge amount of money? Amazon can certainly afford it.
Money aside, it would make sense for the Tolkien Estate to be heavily involved, safe guarding Tolkien’s vision. As much as anyone can when adapting a book to live action. I mean, the last thing I want to see is Michael Bay’s Tales of Middle -Earth with massive explosions every five minutes.
It’s more than the presence of Númenor. The map also includes Ost-in-Edhil, the main city of Eregion, and Lond Daer, the Númenóreans’ first port in Middle-earth. It shows Enedwaith and Minhiriath as heavily wooded, before those forests were felled to feed Númenor’s demand for timber. Lórien is labelled Lórinand, which means Galadriel hasn’t turned up there yet. And in addition to the presence of Amon Lanc, the nearby East Bight—the notch in southeastern Mirkwood—is missing.
From this we can date the map surprisingly precisely: it’s not just Second Age, it’s prior to the forging of the One Ring (ca. SA 1600). Probably just prior.
It can’t be later than SA 1697, because Imladris (Rivendell) was founded that year and it isn’t on the map. Gondor and Arnor aren’t labelled because they weren’t founded until SA 3320. Mordor isn’t labelled because … no one knows about it yet. No one knows Annatar is Sauron. The Barad-dûr isn’t finished yet. Pelargir and Umbar aren’t built yet.
So this is a map of Middle-earth at the time of the forging of the Great Rings, and on the eve of the War of the Elves and Sauron. If they’re dramatizing that …
There are a lot of tells on this map.
@7, no one knows. I have to think at some point they’ll make an announcement if they’ve got them. Or, if they don’t, then we’ll just find out at the last minute what they intend to do with what they have.
I want and hope the Tolkien Estate to be closely involved, but I also hope it’s keeping a significant portion of Christopher Tolkien’s vision of his father’s work at heart. My God-honest fear is that the younger keepers of the Tolkien Estate aren’t just bigger Game of Thrones fans who want to cash in however they can. I’m not actually that caliber of cynical, but with the gravity of Tolkien’s work at stake, I have to be a little more cautious than optimistic.
It is worth noting that, if I’m not mistaken, that Christopher Tolkien stepped down as the head of the Tolkien Estate last year, so it is very plausible that a new arrangement has been made with the Tolkien Estate for more license rights as it was largely Christopher that was opposed to letting any more rights out.
Great analysis, Jonathan Crowe. Yes, with the lack of the Dúnedain kingdoms, it’s clear this is all pre-fall of Númenor, and by a lot. If they really do have the Silmarillion rights, then it’s almost a no-brainer to handle the forging of the Rings of Power. And since that comes long before the fall of Númenor, they can roll that in afterwards.
But the two phases of the maps they’ve shown really asks the question: Are we seeing two different timelines they’ll handle?
They’re totally messing with us, either way.
@11, that’s what I mean. The Amazon deal was announced right on the heels of Christopher’s stepping down. Which sure made it feel like his successor(s) were eager to transact some rights as soon as he left the building.
I wonder if Amazon realizes how closely fans can date a period just by maps? Do they realize how utterly anal we all are? After six movies they certainly should!
@14: Why buy advertising when you can tweet out a few maps and let us obsessives do their marketing work for them? Someone probably converted Tolkien-fan engagement into a dollar amount, and will likely get a bonus this year as a result of that insight. ;-)
Well, Amazon is providing us with a lot to chew on. We cannot be certain where Amazon is taking this, but it won’t stop us from speculating!
This latest map does not simply have new additions, like Numenor and Ost-in-Edhil (that, with the poem, allude to the crafting of the rings with Celebrimbor), but it also has removed (e.g. Arthedain cities) or renamed (e.g. Moria) prior map locations. So what can this mean?
Given that the only thing we know for certain is that the show is set over 5 seasons and the fact that 5 maps were provided, my latest speculation is that each season will cover a different historical period (reflected in the map).
I will go with the “last (map) shall be first” theory and season 1 will cover the forging of the rings of power and the downfall of Numenor (though that is a hell of a lot to cover in one season).
Season 2 (second to last map) may skip forward to the turbulent years of the end of 20th century of the Third Age when Arthedain falls (TA 1974), Angmar is defeated (TA 1975), Khazad dum falls (TA 1980), Galadriel & Celeborn rule Lothlorien (TA 1981) and maybe even to the siege of Minis Ithil (TA 2000).
Season 3 (third map) is more nebulous. Perhaps we move forward 500 years to invasions of Gondor by the Balchoth, the intervention by Eorl the Young and the founding of The Mark of the Riders (aka Rohan).
Season 4 (second map) I have no clue about. I would like to see this be the season we see a young Aragorn, but the map still shows the region of Rohan in its earlier, Gondorian name.
Season 5 could move things into the Fourth Age and the passing of the kingship to Eldarion.
The thread connecting all of these seasons could be (should be?) the lives of the people in the line of Elendil & Isildur. So in each season we are following the events from the eyes of one member of this family’s lineage.
i’m going to have to read “unfinished tales” again, as all i recall from it is the tale about the istari. if they have the rights to unfinished tales and the silmarillion, they’ve got material for a decade or more of shows. a series really is the best format for unpacking the mythology. who needs more of aragorn’s adventures, when you can have the tragedy of feanor? or watch luthien fell morgoth?
So…
– We now know they’ve got at least some rights to at least some pages of Unfinished Tales (the ones with the map of Numenor at the very least)
– We now know they’ve got at least some rights to at least some pages of the Silmarillion (the page with the description of the effects on the coasts of Middle-Earth caused by the Downfall of Numenor – such as the shrinking of Tol Falas, the narrowing of the mouths of Anduin, etc.)
– We now know they’ve got at least some rights to at least some pages of History of Middle Earth (Tol Fuin is only shown in the map in HoME:VII, Treason of Isengard)
– We already knew that they’d paid a truly obscene amount of money for rights and that Christopher Tolkien stepped down from his position at that time.
Given all that, I’m no longer going to assume anything with regards to rights they may or may not have. I’m certainly not going to discount anything onnthe grounds that they certainly don’t have the rights to do it, any more than I’m going to assume they do have them.
Based on the map and poem (and that I can no longer discount it on the basis of rights), my default assumption has to be the subject is very possibly coming of Annatar, the peaceful departure of Galadriel from Eregion, the Forging of the Rings of Power, the War of the Elves and Sauron, and the armada of Tar-Minyatur.
Amazon confirmed on Twitter that the TV series will be set in the Second Age, so yes, that’s really the end of that. This is actually happening.
For the rights situation:
Christopher Tolkien stepped down in August 2017 from the board of the Tolkien Estate. He was the primary voice opposing further adaptations. Of the remaining board directors, his sister Priscilla supported the Ralph Bakshi adaptation in 1978 and his son Simon supported Peter Jackson’s trilogy, so it’s clear the rest of the Estate is much more flexible.
In addition, the Tolkien Estate finances jumped by £10 million in each of the last two years. The last occasions there was such a big increase was after the release of the LotR and Hobbit movies. With no movies released in that time frame, the inference is that they suddenly sold a ton more books than usual for no apparent reason, or Amazon paid out a lot of money for something. Logically that something is the rights to Unfinished Tales (which they 100% need to show the map of Numenor, it’s copyrighted) and possibly some sort of deal for The Silmarillion chapters dealing with the Second Age and Numenor (the Akallabeth). Although you can get quite far on UT alone, only The Silmarillion details the Great Armament and the assault on Valinor in detail, so you’ll need those rights to tell the full story.
The Estate aren’t idiots and won’t let the rights to The Silmarillion proper – their last golden goose – go until they’ve seen what Amazon can do with the rest of the material.
The value of the material also has a natural expiration date, whenever copyright ends. I’m too lazy to look it up, and it may still be a long way off, but it’s getting closer every day. A “good enough” adaptation now may be better than a dozen terrible ones in the future.
@20: The Silmarillion and UT are copyrighted to Christopher Tolkien on behalf of the Estate, so they don’t enter the public domain until 70 years after CT dies, and he’s still going strong.
Werthead, I am not so sure the tweet “Welcome to the Second Age:” qualifies as, “Amazon confirmed on Twitter that the TV series will be set in the Second Age.” Was there something else said? Some of the other maps could point to Third Age too.
@22: Let’s say the TV series is set in the Third Age exclusively. How on earth then would it make sense to post Welcome to the Second Age??
You don’t market a movie about the Trojan War with Welcome to the Middle Ages or a road movie from Buenos Aires down to Patagonia with Welcome to Peru…
I agree with Henry in that Amazon’s “Welcome to the 2nd Age” quote doesn’t necessarily mean how many sites are paraphrasing it, but it’s also unambiguous. Something will be based in or around the Second Age, but it’s just unclear what.
Werthead, that’s a very reasonable approach I hope that’s close to the mark of what’s going on. I think Amazon ought to earn those fuller rights.
@22: None of the maps are conclusive to the Third Age, although some could be compatible. I’ve seen some suggest that “Moria” is an exclusively Third Age name but that is incorrect, as it was used as a pejorative by the elves even when the dwarves were still going strong there (and this appears to be an elvish map, Sindarin specifically), and the dwarves themselves used the name to refer to the Black Chasm under the Bridge of Khazad-dum long before the balrog showed up.
The big one is that Lórien is almost exclusively used to refer to the elven realm during the latter Third Age; the presence of the earlier name Laurelindórenan suggests a pre-Third Age map (Lórinand is the common name used between the two periods).
On the matter of the rights, it has been pointed out that “Tol Morwen” is a name that does not appear in Unfinished Tales. I checked this myself and confirmed that the name only appears in The Silmarillion and twice in the History of Middle-earth series, and is not present in either Unfinished Tales or even The Children of Hurin. This is highly suggestive that Amazon have secured additional rights to The Silmarillion itself.
Color me intrigued. I would love to see 2nd Age stuff, such as Sauron tempting the Elves with his hi-tech computer stuff in his guise as Anatar, Lord of GIFs.
I agree that there is danger that in the name of ratings they will go Game of Thrones on us; I think I speak for many here when I say that I have no desire to see gratuitous scenes of topless Balrogs.
Their Instagram story yesterday had the headline – “Welcome to the Second Age!”
In a shocking reversal, Amazon will reveal that the series is actually an entirely original story based on the surviving fragments of “The Shadow Returns”.
EDIT: (Or whatever that abortive sequel was called — my HoME books are currently boxed up and unavailable for reference.)
I will say, I appreciate what the marketing department is doing here – and the level of detail on the maps at least reassures me a bit that they know their audience and at least know the material.
At this point, I’m hoping they got the rights, and will be cautiously optimistic that they know the Tolkien audience well enough, and will have enough respect for the source material to at least not alter the tone too much. I’m sure it won’t be exactly the same as the books, but I can live with that. The books still exist, after all.
I had been hoping that this series would delve into the (relatively) undocumented Second Age, as we know the broad strokes well enough to have a compelling story, but the details are not filled in so writers of quality could put their own stamp on the material.
Really, the best of both worlds for an adaptation.
@23: I never said the series was set exclusively in the Third Age. The last map absolutely eliminates that possibility. I refer you to my speculation above @16.
@25: I think you are wrong here Werthead. All four previous maps show the Bight in SE Greenwood/Mirkwood created by the Eorlingas’ ancestors the Eotheod. It was my understanding that this harvesting of wood occurred through the early part of the Third Age and the Bight reached its current form in the Third Age soon after Dol Guldur’s founding.
Regarding the use of Laurelindórenan, can you point to the source that this is a pre-Third Age usage? I understood it to be a usage from before Galadriel/Celeborn’s rule (i.e. prior to TA 1981).
I also think we need to take into account the removal & renaming of a few locations made to the map from the 4th to 5th map. I believe this must have some rhyme or reason. Even if these are all Second Age maps, they reflect different periods in the SA and, in my opinion, reflect a time shift in the story-telling (likely from season to season).
I don’t want to be the son of Fëanor here and ruin everyone’s fun specullation… but let’s remember Amazon isn’t doing a documentary about Middle Earth here. They don’t reaaaaaally care about chronological details and little bits of map trivia; they’re doing TV, entertainment for the masses, a viable audio-visual product that has to pigyback on an established franchise while expanding it and making lots of money. So, while trying to see what arch of the legendarium they’re adapting or putting in based on rights and timelines is a good starting place, I would also call to think like a producer and a screenwriter. What would do a compelling arch of say, 10 eppisodes? What will introduce new characters, while referencing enough familiar ones and hopefully letting them sneak a handfull of made-up ones thay can have more freedom with? Which should be the anchor-to-the-familiar characters be? You have to, at least, promisse the appearance of some known (and loved) faces from LotR if you want even the minimum of tracktion with mass audiences. Yes, we all know and care about our Numenorean kings and even Elrond and Galadriel and whatnot… but do you really think audiences care about the “non-action” people of their familiar Middle Earth? If we start thinking from there, it would make sense they’ll want to put Gandalf in there as soon as possible (basically the only “beloved” character they could use). Another option is that they could be tempted to go for the “let’s see some familiar faces when they were younger”, which would have them go exploit some of the elven characters and would allow then to recast them (casting isn’t a minor issue to take into conssideration).
So, I’d say they won’t follow EVERY event in ME history as some here seem to take for granted; it will most likely be a condensation and mish-mash of stuff. Second, they’ll focus on the forging of the rings, since it gives them some good grips to exploit storywise. In doing so they have in Sauron a familiar foe everyone already knows, they have a direct link to a key element of LotR in the rings of power; they’ll also have the chance to focus on dialogue driven fantasy (which is the new black since GoT) in the whole Sauron tricks everyone. Since they have Numenor there, that’s also a good chance to do some “political” and power plots with epic CGI consecuences in the fall.
I don’t know how feasible it would be, but if the series is set during the Second Age, I’d love to see at least cameos from whichever characters from the LotR movies would have been around at the time (Galadriel & Celeborn, obviously; plus some of the other Elves, at least) played by the actors from the movies.
1. Is anyone else now suspecting that this was the plan all along, and “Young Aragorn” was just a false flag to keep all the fabs talking about what they really wanted to see through two years of delicate IP negotiations?
2. Big question for Amazon: do they want to lean full in to a flat earth cosmology?
@26: If they do indeed tackle the making of the Rings of Power, think how much more you can make that pun! Annatar will become a “household” name in pop culture.
@33: The problem with that would be in making Galadriel and Elrond (among others) look no older. That was clearly a struggle with Legolas in The Hobbit films. Even Hugo Weaving, you could see, was a bit older, though he should be younger.
I’d be fine with new actors playing those roles, provided they really choose well. Hell, I would love to have not one recognizable actor in this show. All new blood. No way they would do that, but it would be cool.
@34: I’d be happy if they dodged around the flat vs globe stuff. A few dialogue references, like when Tom Bombadil himself refers to the “bent seas,” is enough. If the First Age remains fairly mythic, they don’t really need to address the physical nature of the shape of the world or the structure of the heavens. Plus, that perspective is just so lofty; it’s not like those things are ever actually discussed about among Men or even Elves in the stories we do have.
@35 Jeff if they spend any time looking at the First Age they would have to see the way that Annatar Lord of GIFs was influenced by Meme the Dwarf.
@35 — Yes, I suppose it’d be the same problem as the later Highlander films (if such things existed, which I forcefully deny), where Christopher Lambert kept getting increasingly leathery.
Whatever stories they decide to cover, I hope that they obtain sufficient licensing that they don’t have to work around known plot points, sort of like the Disney MCU movies not being able to talk about “mutants” or the X-men. From the details revealed so far, I would guess that at the least Amazon has some rights to Unfinished Tales–IIRC that’s where the first map of Numenor showed up.
And please, PLEASE, no “expand the shortest Tolkien Middle-Earth book to 3 movies with MTV-level subplots” stupidity. If there’s a Celebrimbor-Narvi romance I may not be able to keep watching. We don’t need LoTR turned into the Shannara Chronicles.
Maybe there will be a ‘present day’ set whenever that is interleaved with shorter story arcs from past eras that put the present day conflicts into a broader context. This would eliminate the need for a know-it-all character that just happens to be well versed in ALL the lore of the land.
I too hope they are considering appearance of age of actors, although, if it is only a 5 year run, it might not matter too much.
I just remember watching “Buffy” and then “Angel” and by the end of “Angel” I was thinking that for an immortal vampire it sure looked like he was entering middle age…
Not disastrous, but a bit distracting.
As to all the speculation, it’s fun, but who knows. I’m looking forward to whatever we get. Worst case, I can always apply mind bleach and then reread the books.
Jeff … Mr. LaSala ….
I’m just stumbling into your realm here tonight (March 19, 2019) …having just discovered the Tor.com newsletter again (I’m on Tor’s mail list)…and learning to my total amazement that Amazon.com is hosting the LoTR on Prime board here. I’m in shock that I missed this. I’m a longtime Amazon customer, and God Knows I’m a total LoTR junkie. I’ve read all of your Silmarillion Primer stories (and saved them on my PC), along with all the LOTR stories of course. I’m so pleased to see you are “chairing” this “return to Middle Earth” newsletter! (I’ve been missing LoTR companionship with all those of us who are committed fans to Tolkien’s world. I recently read a comment “out here” on the Net that Tolkien once made…that he believed that Middle Earth is real. I can believe he would have said that, and I am one of the “believers” myself. Sigh… anyway, I’m so happy to have found your new newsletter here. I’ll be looking forward to the next newsletter, and joining the discussions. Sigh… what a relief it is to have found you, and Middle Earth Numenor” (again).
Bonnie in Washington State
Thank you again, Bonnie! We’re all Tolkien junkies around this joint, and I’m happy to have added my two or three cents on the subject. I’ll certainly be adding some more, though not on the scale of The Silmarillion Primer series at this time. :)
And by the way, just as a little follow-up to discussions above, the inestimable Tolkien Professor, Corey Olsen, has added his expertise to speculation on Amazon’s Middle-earth maps. Just like us, it really is just speculation, but well-informed at that.
Really hoping the series will show Dumbledore forging the triforce in the fires of Mustafar.
Seriously though, who thinks there might be hobbits in this series?
Ack, Jeff . . . transcription needed. Is there one available?
#43 Mind1
Nasty hobbitses we hates them, don’t we, precious??
Seriously, though, hobbits don’t really show up until about 1400 (or is it 1600? I forget) into the third age, is this not correct?
Transcription for what? I don’t think any exist for Corey Olsen’s podcasts, if that’s what you’re referring to. At least, I’ve never seen them anywhere. They’re a fun listen as well as being informative. And I got to meet him a couple weeks ago at the NY Tolkien Conference.
Yes, Corey Olsen. Thanks.
If Amazon did get the rights to the Silmarillion, does that mean they could potentially make another audiobook for audible as well? I’ve been hoping for that.
Why is there no new post to cover the recent casting announcement from Variety.com (July 22)?
@49: That’s so very little information. A few more castings, or maybe a really big one that’s not so vague, might be the right spark…
People keep talking about Silmarillion licensing, but the appendices to LotR have a lot of historical outline to them, including a quick outline of the First Age (no Turin, but Luthien and Tuor and Earendil etc.), a short history of Numenor, and a chronology of the Second Age. Naively, “LotR licensed” alone gives you rights to spin off a whole lot of stuff.