Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series is another, big step closer to reality, with the hiring of J.A. Bayona to direct the first two episodes.
In addition to helming the first two episodes of Penny Dreadful, Bayona’s credits include Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and the Guillermo del Toro-produced The Orphanage (which a friend keeps telling me is one of the scariest films.
Sir Ian McKellen, though, has hinted that he may reprise his role as wizard Gandalf — which he played in Peter Jackson’s blockbuster Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies — for the Amazon series.
Amazon’s LOTR series, first announced back in November 2017 with a multi-season series order (and the potential for spinoffs), has been largely shrouded in secrecy; no casting details, episode count or premiere date have yet been revealed.