Meet the first cast member on Amazon’s Lord of the Rings show

Amazon is prepping a wildly expensive show based on the work of J.R.R. Tolkien, the literary mind behind The Lord of the Rings. We know bits and pieces about it but nothing substantive. It cost an ungodly amount of money. It’s being managed by writers JD Payne and Patrick McKay, with Game of Thrones scribe Bryan Cogman coming on board to help. It’s set during the Second Age of Middle-earth, when human beings were hanging out on the island of Númenor and Sauron was busy forging the Rings of Power. That’s all well and good, but who’s going to be in it, huh? Who are we going to be looking at?

Variety brings us our first clue. According to their sources, Amazon is in talks with Australian actor Markella Kavenagh — who’s appeared in television dramas like Picnic at Hanging Rock and The Cry — to play a character named “Tyra.” Now, when I hear the name “Tyra,” my mind goes involuntarily to supermodel/talk show host/inspiration Tyra Banks, which probably isn’t the association they’re going for.

It’s very possible Tyra is a codename, or there’s this idea:

Personally, I kind of think Kavenagh could play a good elf. She sort of has that willowy etherealness thing going on.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – DECEMBER 05: Markella Kavenagh attends the 2018 AACTA Awards Presented by Foxtel at The Star on December 5, 2018 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Brook Mitchell/Getty Images for AFI)

Of course, Amazon hasn’t announced anything for sure yet, but with us hearing about shooting happening in the near future, it’s about the right time for us to learn about casting.

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