Amazon’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ series adds 20 actors to the cast

The next series “The Lord of the Rings” on Amazon adds 20 actors to its cast, Variety has learned.

New additions are: Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Maxim Baldry, Ian Blackburn, Kip Chapman, Anthony Crum, Maxine Cunliffe, Trystan Gravelle, Sir Lenny Henry, Thusitha Jayasundera, Fabian McCallum, Simon Merrells, Geoff Morrell, Peter Mullan, Lloyd Owen, Augustus Prew, Peter Tait, Alex Tarrant, Leon Wadham, Benjamin Walker and Sara Zwangobani.

Blackburn, Chapman, Crum, Cunliffe, Tait, Tarrant and Wadham are all from New Zealand, where the show is currently in production, with the rest of the international ensemble cast hailing from Australia, Sri Lanka, UK. United and United States.

They join previously announced cast Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Budge, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers and Daniel Weyman as announced earlier this year.

“The world that JRR Tolkien creates is epic, diverse and full of heart,” said showrunners and executive producers JD Payne and Patrick McKay. “These extraordinarily talented performers, hailing from all over the world, represent the culmination of a years-long search for brilliant and unique artists to bring this world to life. The international distribution of Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series is more than just a bundle. It’s a family. We are delighted to welcome each of them to Middle-earth.

The “Lord of the Rings” series is written by Payne and McKay. In addition, Bryan Cogman, formerly of “Game of Thrones”, has signed up as consultant producer on the project with JA Bayona ready to direct several episodes.

In addition to those previously announced, the show’s full creative team will include: executive producers Lindsey Weber, Bruce Richmond, Callum Greene and former Amazon genre programming manager Sharon Tal Yguado; writer and executive producer Gennifer Hutchison; writer and executive producer Jason Cahill; writer and executive producer Justin Doble; consulting producer Stephany Folsom; producer Ron Ames; writer and co-producer Helen Shang; and editorial consultant Glenise Mullins. Bayona will also be executive producer with his partner Belén Atienza.

Little is known about the plot of “The Lord of the Rings” series beyond the fact that it will explore new stories leading up to “The Fellowship of the Ring” by JRR Tolkien. The show’s official Twitter account has been sent an image of a map as well as the two messages: “One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them, To the Land of Mordor where the Shadows are”, as well as “Welcome to Second Age In Tolkien’s mythology, the Second Age was the time when the rings of power, including the one ring of Sauron, came into being.

Variety exclusively reported in November 2017 that a “Lord of the Rings” series was in the works at Amazon, with the streamer announcing a multi-season production engagement shortly after. The series will be produced by Amazon Studios in cooperation with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins and New Line Cinema, a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment.