The Lord of the Rings actor Viggo Mortensen has shared his thoughts on Amazon’s new Middle-earth TV show, which is currently filming in New Zealand with a big cast.
Speaking to NME, Mortensen responded to the interviewer’s suggestion that Amazon’s Lord of the Rings TV show might be more adult-themed, not unlike Game of Thrones. Mortensen, who played Aragorn in Jackson’s movies, said he’s not over the moon about the idea of a Lord of the Rings TV show adding “arbitrary violence.”
But overall, Mortensen said he’s optimistic about the series because of the talent behind the camera, including director J.A. Bayona, along with the fact that it’s filming in the closest thing we have to Middle-earth: New Zealand.
“That they would try to be like Game Of Thrones and have a certain level of arbitrary violence and stuff like that? I dunno. I know it’s J.A. Bayona, who is a Spanish director who’s very talented. They are doing it in New Zealand, so I would imagine they would have the benefit of Peter Jackson’s advice and maybe some of the crew members. I would think that they have every opportunity to do it right. They have a good example to follow.”
For what it’s worth, Jackson is not involved in Amazon’s Lord of the Rings show in an official capacity. The show has, however, hired artist John Howe, whose illustrations served as the inspiration for the look of Jackson’s movies. Amazon was working with renowned Lord of the Rings scholar Tom Shippey, though he is said to have left the project.
Jackson worked with the New Zealand-based props and digital effects company Weta on the Lord of the Rings series, but it’s unknown if Weta is working on Amazon’s show. Jackson is a co-owner of Weta.
There is no word yet on when the Amazon Lord of the Rings series will premiere. Work on the show is progressing along, with more than 20 actors recently joining the cast. The show takes place in the Second Age of Middle-earth, which is long before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
Amazon is also working a new Lord of the Rings MMO, but it doesn’t tie into the game. We recently learned a lot about this game, including a targeted release date and more.
