Lord Of The Rings TV Show Cast First Series Regular

Amazon's big-budget Lord of the Rings TV show is one of the most-anticipated programs in development anywhere. But up until now, there hasn't been any word as to who would appear in it or what stories it would tell. Now, some of those details are coming into focus.

Variety and other Hollywood sites are reporting that Amazon has cast Australian actress Markella Kavenagh (Romper Stomper) as a series regular. She will reportedly play a character known as Tyra, but no other details were made available. Tyra could be a brand-new character invented for the show, similar to how Peter Jackson's The Hobbit series created Evangeline Lilly's non-canon character, Tauriel.

According to Deadline, Amazon has tasked its casting directors to seek out talent for the show from all around the world.

JD Payne and Patrick McKay are the showrunners for Amazon's Lord of the Rings show. Like D.B. Weiss and David Benioff before they created Game of Thrones, Payne and McKay have no TV credits. Game of Thrones veteran Bryan Cogman and Breaking Bad's Gennifer Hutchison are believed to be among the writers of the new Lord of the Rings show.

J.A. Bayona, who directed Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, is set to direct multiple episodes of The Lord of the Rings TV show. Bayona is also known for the Guillermo Del Toro-produced horror The Orphanage and the acclaimed drama A Monster Calls.

The Lord of the Rings show is set before the events of JRR Tolkien's trilogy of books and Peter Jackson's movie adaptations. It will take place during the Second Age, which is a 3,441-year period that covered major events like the forging of the Rings of Power, the War of Sauron, the beginning of the Ringwraiths, and the Numenor island sinking into the ocean.

The show will air on Amazon Prime, though a release date has not been announced.

In Lord of the Rings video game news, a new Lord of the Rings title focused on Gollum is in development at Daedalic Entertainment, while a brand-new Lord of the Rings MMO is coming from Amazon--though it is not connected to the TV show.