Every sci-fi and fantasy show you should watch in 2022
By WiC Staff
The Lord of the Rings prequel — Amazon Prime Video — September 2
When it comes to highly anticipated fantasy shows coming in 2022, Amazon’s Lord of the Rings prequel has to be one of the frontrunners. Not necessarily because of the plot or characters — we know very little about both, aside from the show being set during the Second Age of Middle-Earth. No, we’re all waiting to see what Amazon’s show will actually be like because of the sheer audacity of the thing. If Jeff Bezos packed his entire spaceship full of thousand dollar bills, it probably still wouldn’t come close to the amount of money that the studio is throwing at this Lord of the Rings prequel. Amazon reportedly spent upwards of $250 million just to buy the rights from the Tolkien estate, and then another $250 million or so to produce the first two seasons. For reference, that is almost double what New Line Cinema spent on Peter Jackson’s entire trilogy of Lord of the Rings films.
So of course we’re all beyond curious to see how this prequel series is going to turn out. It could end up being one of the best fantasy shows we’ve yet to see, or it could combust like the One Ring dropped into the fires of Mount Doom. We won’t know until we see more than the single image that has so far been released.
On the lore side of things, there’s quite a bit to be intrigued by. The Second Age is detailed in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion, so we do at least know a few things about what to expect, such as the Elven paradise of Valinor (which is where the Elves are all sailing away to in The Lord of the Rings), Númenor (a mighty human island kingdom which has some serious Atlantis vibes; that’s where Aragorn’s Dunedain bloodline originates), and a very different take on Sauron, who in this Age is known for his deceptive beauty and charisma. The Dark Lord is just starting to get his jewelry-making game on here, so I imagine we will likely get quite a bit of backstory for the Rings of Power.
All told, Amazon’s Lord of the Rings prequel is undoubtedly one of the biggest genre releases of 2022. And since they announced a release date very far ahead of time, we know exactly when it’s coming: September 2, 2022. So mark your calendars and make ready to return to Middle-Earth! — Daniel