“Lord of the Rings” TV series lands at Amazon

“'The Lord of the Rings' is a cultural phenomenon that has captured the imagination of generations of fans through literature and the big screen,” Sharon Tal Yguado, Amazon Studios' head of scripted series said in a statement published on Deadline.
"We are honored to be working with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins and New Line on this exciting collaboration for television and are thrilled to be taking The Lord of the Rings fans on a new epic journey in Middle Earth."
“We are delighted that Amazon, with its longstanding commitment to literature, is the home of the first-ever multi-season television series for ‘The Lord of the Rings,’” Matt Galsor, a representative for the Tolkien Estate and Trust and HarperCollins added. "Amazon Studios [has] exceptional ideas to bring to the screen previously unexplored stories based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s original writings.”
Multiple industry outlets are suggesting that the deal between the estate, studio and various other stakeholders, as well as the estimated budget entailed in production, may make the series the most expensive of its kind ever to reach the small screen, outstripping the fortune spent on the creation of HBO's "Game of Thrones."