Will Poulter lands lead role in Amazon’s Lord of the Rings show

For such a huge project, we’ve heard remarkably little about Amazon’s upcoming Lord of the Rings show. We know it’s costing an ungodly amount of money, we know it’s set during the Second Age of Middle-Earth, and we know that it’s managed by showrunners  JD Payne and Patrick McKay, with Game of Thrones scribe Bryan Cogman on board to help.

Other than that, we’ve been largely in the dark. Who’s gonna be in this thing? About a month back we heard that Amazon was in talks with Australian actor Markella Kavenagh to play a character named “Tyra,” but that’s been it.

Until now. Variety reports that British actor Will Poulter, who recently made splashes in the Black Mirror movie Bandersnatch and horror flick Midsommar, has been cast in “one of the show’s lead roles.”

Here’s a supercut of some of his moments from Bandersnatch. I’m assuming they’ll turn down the peroxide blonde for the Lord of the Rings show…probably.

We have no idea what that role is. Is he a man of Númenor? An elf of Lindon? Will they use some special effects magic and have him play a dwarf? I don’t know, is he Sauron?

LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 12: Will Poulter attends the Virgin Media British Academy Television Awards 2019 at The Royal Festival Hall on May 12, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Getty Images)

At 6’2”, I can see the slim blonde actor playing a graceful elf, although really, it’s anyone’s guess. Before Midsommar and Bandersnatch, Poulter also had roles in The Revenant and The Maze Runner franchise, if you’re interested in his back catalog.

I’m also intrigued by Variety describing the part as “one of the show’s lead roles,” implying that there’s more than one. Might we getting a Game of Thrones-esque ensemble cast with lots of important characters, none of whom is obviously the “main” character? More as it develops.

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