Are The Rings of Power Creators Guilty of Highjacking the LoTR Name?
In a year marked by a number of prequel shows based off of massively popular franchises, The Rings of Power has sparked some arguments about its canon.
Set thousands of years before Lord of the Rings, Amazon's Rings of Power is an original show based on J.R.R. Tolkien's writing. Its first season approaches a finale with mixed reviews for its entire 8 episode run.
Fans of the franchise and viewers of the show took to Reddit to voice complaints.
The showrunners have been accused of "highjacking" the Lord of the Rings name, not understanding Tolkien and his writing at all. Fans are frustrated that the show seems to be setting its own canon, a canon inconsistent with the world Tolkien had created in his books.
One of the most endearing elements of the Oscar-winning 2000s trilogy was how accurate it was to the books. Filmmaker Peter Jackson created Lord of the Rings visually to match the source books as perfectly as possible.
While fans of the franchise anticipated a prequel show, it has not gone to their liking. Some even insisted that the show be restarted with new writers and a new cast, not seeing the point of continued seasons.
Showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay spoke with The Hollywood Reporter to refute a few of the most common complaints.
One complaint was that the dwarf wives in the show don't have beards as they do in the books. McKay responded that there's an argument that dwarf women in the book have heavy beards and an argument that they don't. He was happy where they landed, "lovingly" applying beard hairs to Disa actress Sophia Nomvete.
Another complaint was that elves shouldn't have shaved heads or short hair. McKay said they sought to go deeper into the culture, and insisting that elf culture wouldn't change for 9,000 didn't "harmonize with the breadth of imagination" Tolkien gave his fans. Payne simply said that if Tolkien wrote a style guide to Middle-Earth hairstyles over millennia, he'd love to see it.
Maybe the biggest complaint about the show has been its pacing. Payne said that many blockbusters have a "breakneck pace," and he hopes people can key in for the journey.
There have been several other canonical complaints, including the use of diversity in the cast and characters, the newness of the clothing, and Galadriel's characterization.
The response to Rings of Power proves that fans appreciate continuity when their favorite franchises are reborn, however, it is important to note that Amazon executives selected Payne and McKay specifically because of their passion and knowledge regarding the Lord of the Rings franchise.
The first-time showrunners expected the quality to improve in Season 2, a season they promised to be "bigger and better."