UPDATE! 11/13: As is now being reported by Variety, Amazon has officially given the green light to a new small screen series based on J.R.R. Tolkien‘s The Lord of the Rings. As not to retread too closely grounds lain by the films directed by Peter Jackson between 2002 and 2004, the new program will set its story before the events of The Fellowship of the Ring, taking viewers on Middle-earth adventures not yet committed to screen.

As we have to assume that the new project was inspired at least in part by the success of Game of Thrones and excitement over the HBO fantasy drama’s developing spin-off series, we might be wise to expect a Thrones-ian touch to the new Lord of the Rings show. It goes without saying that George R.R. Martin was heavily influenced by J.R.R. Tolkien, but now perhaps some of Martin’s unique charms will find themselves leaving a mark on the new Tolkien adaptation.

11/4: Variety broke the news about this potentially huge LOTR adaptation and added that Bezos is “personally involved in the negotiations.” But there is no deal currently in place, and the talks are reportedly at a very early stage. Regardless, adding a LOTR series to Amazon’s original programming slate would be a huge boon for Bezos’ company.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy was previously adapted by director Peter Jackson in 2001, and those films are still a gold standard for fantasy movies. That said, it would probably take at least two to three years to properly develop LOTR for television. By that point, it will have been nearly 20 years since The Fellowship of the Ring kicked off the cinematic trilogy. That’s not an unreasonable amount of time to wait before setting a retelling in motion.

How could a LOTR series compete with Jackson’s masterfully crafted movies? For starters, the TV show could incorporate even more elements from the novels, as well as characters who didn’t make the cut for the feature films. Tom Bombadil, anyone? The television series probably wouldn’t have a budget that could directly compete with a feature film. If Amazon goes with $6 to $8 million per episode over the course of a 10 episode season, a series with that kind of money could still be a very high quality production. But first, a deal will have to actually materialize. And it remains to be seen if it will happen at all.

Would you like to see Lord of the Rings come to television? Cast the ring into the fires of Mount Doom and share your thoughts below!

Images: New Line Cinema

Go to Mordor with more Middle-earth stories!

• The story of Beren and Lúthien is available.
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• Gollum sings “Time After Time.”