Some key takeaways:

* The Rings of Power, set within Tolkien's Second Age, will
juggle 22 stars and multiple storylines, from deep within
the dwarf mines to the elven kingdom of Lindon. Here, the
adventures of the fellowship are still some 2,000 years in
the future.

* Patrick McKay and JD Payne are first-time showrunners and
their series -based not on a novel but the Middle-earth
prehistory attached to the end of The Lord of the Rings -
will be the costliest TV show ever.

* Despite being set thousands of years before the stories
we know, familiar immortals do turn up as their younger
selves: Morfydd Clarke as the elven queen Galadriel, now a
hardscrabble warrior leading the Northern Armies.

* Robert Aramayo plays Elrond, the elven statesman who is
just beginning to build his reputation - starting with
mending the relationship between his people and the dwarves
of Khazad-dûm.

* In a bold move, The Rings of Power condenses Tolkien's
Middle-earth timeline and adds entirely new characters.
Sophia Nomvete's dwarven princess, Disa, and Ismael Cruz
Córdova's Silvan elf, Arondir, broaden the notion of who
lives in Middle-earth.

* What of Sauron? Or Isildur, the warrior who cuts the One
Ring off the villain's hand? "The speculation is welcome,"
says Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios. But the
secrecy that has blanketed this series is finally lifting.

* At its core, The Rings of Power takes its biggest cue
from the heart of Tolkien's books. "It's about friendship,"
says McKay. "It's about brotherhood and underdogs
overcoming great darkness."

--- OpenXP 5.0.51
* Origin: Join MOVIES = https://tinyurl.com/ydjv9chf (2:221/1.58)