It’s been said that Amazon wanted their own Game of Thrones, and that’s the main reason they plunked down a hefty amount of money for the rights to make a Lord of the Rings TV series. Now it looks like they’re so committed to this concept that they’re even hiring Game of Thrones actors. Joseph Mawle, who played Benjen Stark on Thrones, has joined the Lord of the Rings TV series cast as the main antagonist, named Oren.
Deadline has the scoop on Joseph Mawle joining the Lord of the Rings TV series cast as a villain named Oren. What’s Oren’s deal? We don’t know – we just know he’s the show’s “primary villain.” A detailed search through the archives (aka a quick search on the Lord of the Rings Wiki) doesn’t turn up a character named Oren. The closest is someone named Ornendil, described as “the elder son of King Eldacar of Gondor.” Is there a connection? Probably not, since we know the show takes place in Tolkien’s Second Age, and Eldacar didn’t show up until the Third Age.
Mawle joins previously announced cast members Will Poulter, playing the show’s hero, Beldor, and Markella Kavenagh, playing the female lead, Tyra. Once again, these names aren’t traditional Lord of the Rings characters but sound similar to characters. While “Beldor” doesn’t turn up, “Beldir” does. And there’s nothing even close to “Tyra.” In other words, it looks like the Lord of the Rings show is going to be introducing brand new characters who just happen to inhabit Middle-earth. The series is said to be set millennia before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring. But it seems as if the events from The Silmarillion, Tolkien’s collected works that make up the history of Middle-earth, won’t be used.
This is actually a bit freeing. Show writers JD Payne and Patrick McKay won’t have to worry about sticking close to source material. They also won’t have to worry about straying too far from source material, something that angers fans. They’ll be able to tell their own unique story set in this world. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom director J.A. Bayona is helming the series, which is currently in pre-production, and will start up production in Auckland, New Zealand very soon.
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