In a move that should make Lord of the Rings fans happy, it’s been confirmed that Oscar-winning composer Howard Shore is returning to Middle-earth to compose the original main title theme for Amazon Prime Video’s new TV series The Lord the Rings: The Rings of Power.
Shore won three Academy Awards for his memorable work on Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings series, including a win for Best Music, Original Score for The Fellowship of the Ring. He earned another Oscar for the song “Into the West” in Two Towers and a third Oscar for Best Music, Original Score for Return of the King.
Shore’s involvement in The Rings of Power was rumored for a long time, but Amazon Studios officially announced the news today.
Amazon also confirmed that composer Bear McCreary, who won an Emmy for Da Vinci’s Demons and has worked on movies like 10 Cloverfield Lane and Godzilla: King of the Monsters, is the composer for the entire The Rings of Power series. McCreary is also known for his work in video games, having composed the music for God of War and the upcoming God of War: Ragnarok.
“I am thrilled to musically guide audiences through major events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Second Age of Middle-earth & honored to score a series featuring a majestic main title by Howard Shore,” McCreary said on Twitter.
In a statement (via Deadline), McCreary said he aimed to “honor Shore’s musical legacy,” going on to say he was inspired by Shore’s title theme for The Rings of Power. “When I heard his majestic main title, I was struck by how perfectly his theme and my original score, though crafted separately, fit together so beautifully,” McCreary said.
Two of McCreary’s songs from The Rings of Power, “Galadriel” and “Sauron,” are available to stream right now on Amazon Music. Shore’s main title theme, however, is being saved for a later date.
It’s shaping up to be a big week for The Rings of Power, as Amazon is set to showcase the TV series at San Diego Comic-Con, starting Friday, July 22, with a big panel featuring the showrunners and cast. You can catch a live Q&A from the event through the link above.
The Rings of Power premieres September 2 on Prime Video.
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