Stephenie Magister ✨

Summary

The article discusses the author's skepticism about the upcoming Amazon series based on J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and compares it to the final season of Game of Thrones, while also mentioning a personal anecdote about a past connection to the Lord of the Rings books.

Abstract

The author reflects on their personal history with the Lord of the Rings franchise, beginning with a gift of the books in 1998, and expresses doubt about the success of the new Amazon series. The article references an upcoming piece in Creative Screenwriting where the author and other industry professionals share their initial encounters with the LotR franchise and their predictions for the new series. The author fears that

Will The Latest Lord Of The Rings Spin-Off Pass The Game of Thrones Test?

Only Gandalf can tell us for sure

Graphic and selfie by me, photo from Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (New Line Cinema)

In the cold winter of 1998, my one friend in De Soto, TX tapped my shoulder from behind me in English class.

It was Xmas, and she’d gotten me the Lord of the Rings books.

“You like these books,” she said. “Right?”

And because I liked her so much, I chickened out and told her absolutely I liked them.

Then she asked me if I liked her, and I chickened out about that too.

I never told her the truth, and it’s haunted me ever since.

So when journalist, entertainment reporter, and writer for Variety Michael Lee Simpson (offsite) asked me whether I was looking forward to the new Amazon series based on JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, I didn’t hesitate.

I told him the truth.

“It’s probably going to suck.”

But moments before I could tell him why it’s probably going to suck, he told me to wait my turn. I was going to be in his next article for Creative Screenwriting with at least three other people from the movie business:

Actress/director/producer Anna Rezan (Like a Summer Night, Beauty Before Age, My People)
Writer, actor, and director Ricardo Cordero (The Escape, Pretend, the Suicide TV series)
David Seth Cohen, Founder of Legitimate Rascal Films and writer/director of Finding Sandler
and Stephenie Magister (that’s me!)

Make the jump here to go to the article and read how all of us first experienced the LotR franchise…and whether we think this latest attempt will sink faster than that final season of Game of Thrones.

Bonus Round

But will it be better or worse than House of the Dragons?

I couldn’t really tell Michael my thoughts on House of Dragons until it premiered. It’s just as well. Michael informed me that this new Lord of the Rings spin-off has a secret connection to Game of Thrones.

In The Rings of Power, Robert Aramayo, who played the younger version of Eddard Stark in Game of Thrones, will be a half-Elven politician and architect named Elron.

That’s just the kind of fan service I hunger to see, but that’s all both shows feel like to me now. Fan service.

The final trailer for The Rings of Power didn’t help.

And after the House of the Dragons premiere foreshadowed (imo) in the first episode who will claim the role of the Night King…my guess is neither show will resurrect the magic that hooked worldwide audiences.