Amazon’s “Lord of the Rings” show clearly knows its audience.
Robert Aramayo, 27, an English actor best known as playing a younger version of Ned Stark (Sean Bean) on “Game of Thrones,” is set to star.
On Tuesday, Deadline broke the news that he’s replacing original star Will Poulter, who dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. The “Lord of the Rings” series, which Amazon has already renewed for a Season 2 ahead of Season 1, has made waves for its hefty price tag. The rights reportedly cost Amazon $250 million to nab.
Aramayo will reportedly play a young hero named Beldor. The show will be a prequel series, set thousands of years before the events of the “Lord of the Rings” books and films, exploring new storylines long before Frodo lived. (For “LOTR” aficionados, it’ll be set during the Second Age, a time period that spans 3,441 years.)
Fellow “Game of Thrones” alum Joseph Mawle (who played Ned’s brother Benjen Stark) will also co-star. According to Indiewire, Season 1 will have a whopping 20 episodes.
In December, the series reportedly put out ads looking for extras for the show — particularly people with “Character Faces (Earthy, Weathered, Dark Skin Tonnes [sic], Missing teeth, Wonderful Noses).”
It’s long been obvious Amazon is trying to seize a piece of the “Game of Thrones” pie and capture that show’s success, splash, prestige and audience size. In casting alums from “GoT,” they couldn’t be making it any clearer: They’re coming for the throne of TV fantasy.
Will it work? Time will tell. The “Lord of the Rings” series does not yet have a premiere date.