Yahoo News Lord of the Rings TV series finds its first star
The Lord of the Rings TV series is starting to repopulate Middle-earth.
The long-in-the-works series is making the exciting move towards production by eyeing its first cast member in Markella Kavenagh, according to Variety.
The Australian actress had her breakthrough in the Aussie TV series Romper Stomper, and has more recently turned in buzzy performances in the BBC's Picnic at Hanging Rock and The Cry.
Kavenagh is expected to be playing a character called Tyra in Amazon's adaptation of Lord of the Rings, but not much else is known about the role at this time.
Unlike Sir Peter Jackson's award-winning films, the episodic Amazon series is based on "previously unexplored stories based on J.R.R. Tolkien's original writings".
Peter Jackson will not be involved in the series, nor will his notable cast members Andy Serkis or John Rhys-Davies — while Sean Astin has called the prequel concept "intriguing".
There remains rampant theories in fan circles that the first series will be an origin story of sorts for young Aragorn — played by Viggo Mortensen in the feature films — but Amazon has declined to comment.
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The company did release an interactive teaser earlier this year, which invited fans to explore the magical world that JRR Tolkien created with Middle-earth.
Along with the map was the clue: "Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky."
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, pic.twitter.com/unJj1Bpde1
— The Lord of the Rings on Prime (@LOTRonPrime) February 15, 2019
The Lord of the Rings series is set to arrive on Amazon Prime Video in 2021.
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