Lord of the Rings star Orlando Bloom has shared his thoughts on Amazon’s upcoming big-budget TV show based on the JRR Tolkien universe. Speaking to Collider, Bloom said he had the opportunity to get an inside scoop on the show from a producer he’s working with for his own Amazon projects, but he chose to stay in the dark so he could enjoy the show as a fan.
“I had a few questions for him to begin with … and then I was like, ‘You know, I don’t need to know any more.’ It’s not, obviously, it’s not a remake. It’s actually not based on The Fellowship or any of that. So I think it could be really, really interesting from that perspective,” Bloom said.
Bloom said he is going to “fan it up for sure” when he watches the show, which is new territory for him given he starred in the original Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Hobbit films. Bloom also shared that he understands Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is a “big fan of fantasy” and that’s part of the reason why Amazon shelled out a reported $250 million for the rights alone.
“They certainly paid a pretty penny to get it done. No doubt there is a lot riding there on that,” Bloom said.
Also in the interview, Bloom spoke about a conversation he had with Peter Jackson some 20 years ago when the director raised the idea of a remake of The Lord of the Rings.
“I remember being on set with Peter Jackson and him saying, ‘Can you imagine the day when they do a remake of this movie?’ And I was like [flabbergasted face]. And then of course here we are, 20 years later, but it’s not a remake,” Bloom said of the Amazon show. “The Lord of the Rings is a title for a world. But I think it’s going to be interesting from that perspective.”
A remake of The Lord of the Rings wouldn’t be something Bloom would be too interested in seeing.
“If it was a remake I would be like, ‘You’re going to take us back into Hobbiton and try to tell us that what we saw…’ It was such an informative time and it had such an impact. It’s different, what’s coming [from Amazon] and I think that’s a good thing.”
Bloom currently stars on Amazon’s Carnival Row. In December 2019, he signed a first-look deal with Amazon that will see the star develop multiple TV shows and movies for the company.
As for the Lord of the Rings TV series, it’s expected that filming will resume in New Zealand soon. A recent unconfirmed rumor said that Pirates of the Caribbean star Kaya Scoledario has joined the cast in an unspecified role.
