Prime Video Amazon Studio’s LotR, The Rings of Power

How do they “come up with the novel Tolkien never wrote”?

“Can we come up with the novel Tolkien never wrote and do it as the mega-event series that could only happen now?”

Vanity Fair article Feb 10th 2022

“We took all these little clues and thought of them as stars in the sky that we then connected to write the novel that Tolkien never wrote about the Second Age,”

Vanity Fair article Feb 14^th 2022

“How can new material not be invented to fill in the gaps?” TORn Feb 12^th 2022

If Prime Video are going to create Middle-earth characters and narratives, then what elements should be evident to make them synonymous with Tolkien’s legendarium.

“The Message” was subtle

There is a subtlety regarding the messaging in Middle-earth. There is wisdom and proverbs throughout Tolkien’s writing, and yet they are camouflaged within his epic tale of adventure and are there only to enhance the story.

There is deep insight about life and humanity, including Tolkien’s devout religious beliefs. Yet he doesn’t impose this insight in an overt manner. There is very little religious ritual or references portrayed. But there's a strong belief system behind the stories he wrote.

There is heart in the story

You gain a sense that Tolkien’s affinity with his writing is absolute. He is imbued within each word, sentence and paragraph, every character, place and event. In a sense one communes with Tolkien himself through his distinctive narrative and the vastness of the universe he has created. One finds oneself willingly subverted to his passion for nature, kindness, friendship and sacrifice, peace and quiet and good tilled earth, and heroic virtues.

You never feel that Tolkien was driven by commercial considerations or was obsessed with becoming a best-selling author. It was about creating a meaningful legendarium, his favourite hobby. Being a highly intelligent, thoughtful man, fantasizing mostly for his own pleasure, he made a fairy tale for adults, and gave fantasy a depth, and a grandeur it never had before.

Understanding and use of language

Tolkien not only uses language as a method of world-building but structures his entire fantasy world around them. His mastery of linguistics enables him to create amazingly beautiful and diverse working languages which enhance the believability of his creations.  It becomes clear to the reader that many of these dialects are true languages, often with their own specific grammar and vocabulary, and Tolkien even builds in the evolution of these languages over time.

There is an authenticity in Tolkien’s work based in the mythological past, avoiding modern words and with a layered style of writing containing amazing parallels of subtle detail. He echoes the ringing poetic styles of ancient sagas that were meant to be said or sung out loud, not just read from a static page. You gain a sense of the intimate familiarity Tolkien had with Norse epics, Anglo-Saxon myths and his beloved Beowulf. Often there is a cadence in his dialogue reminiscent of Anglo-Saxon and the Old North, with his words often hinting at his bigger legendarium and the historical longevity beyond the event being described.

Tolkien consistently writes in a blended style that feels and sounds slightly archaic while still flowing and reading very well for reader of today. His wordplay is so clever, and the way he switches into poetic style with such rhythmic quality is truly mythic and fantastical skillful. He is a master in the use of the precise word in the correct position and an exceptionally skillful writer of descriptive prose. Tolkien creates archaic dialogue with the essence of the texts and poems of old, giving his words a sacred feel and an overall impression of authenticity. It all sounds real and powerful with a linguistic prowess that uses ancient, obsolete words in meaningful ways.

World building

In Middle-earth the languages came first, character and place names all had important meaning, adding further levels of depth, and a feeling of Middle-earth being coherent and connected. His world building was meticulous, creating a Middle-earth full of awe-inspiring places and events and multiple cultures with detail histories, genealogies and languages. Tolkien was masterful at immersive writing. Many things are described in minute detail and given great meaning, whilst at other times there was an open-endedness or partial answers leaving the reader to explore and discover an element of Lore or come up with an idea themselves. Tolkien was the master of making his world and its created history feel real, vast and unknowable. Many readers say that Middle-earth is more real to them than actual countries they have never visited, as his subcreation has enabled them to stand on the parapets of Minas Tirith or paddled along open stretches of the River Anduin.

Style

Tolkien successfully blends a wondrously epic tale inside a heavy novel over laden with detail and minutiae that forces a reader’s imagination to work hard. When you're reading his works, specifically LOTR and The Silmarillion, you feel like you're reading an old mythology with just the right amount of magic and medieval motif to draw you in and take you along on the adventure. There are constant glances of his much larger story, his legendarium. However these glances are not mere illusion of history, there IS actually a history behind the characters and places portrayed. There is so much history and detail one doesn’t feel like they’re reading fiction, and you are able to fully suspended disbelief. The depth of the epic scale backstory he created for his stories is unparalleled. Tolkien articulates a universe where good is synonymous with beauty, harmony, and nature, and evil with ugliness and arrogant industry. The Silmarillion is so incredibly beautiful, it's actually a spiritually enriching reading experience despite being fiction. It’s somehow comforting to imagine a world where a grand scheme exists without question.

Tolkien conveys the beautiful melancholy of the impermanence of everything, and there’s a humility and sadness in much that he writes. He sees the best in the little things, and little people, and the sorrow that’s behind the greatest of accomplishments. Tolkien explored in depth the sorrow of fading, and all that is unique and poignant about the elves' acceptance of the long, inexorable demise of their power.

Interpersonal relationship portrayal

In Middle-earth the epic story is bigger that the individual character. Tolkien doesn't fill his story entirely with human interaction and emotion, and the constructed social interaction feels almost formal and otherworldly. Characters remain in the essence an abstraction within the epic, with the emphasis being on the grandeur of the overarching narrative. We do explore relationships and read about portrayals of love, hate animosity and fellowship. But these are shown in the context of the ongoing quest or saga the characters are engaged in.

Emotion/Evoking sense of wonder, have an impact on the reader/viewer

Tolkien’s descriptions evoke grandeur and awe, and in creating amazing characters and events, he enables the reader to experience that amazement whilst engaged with the text. He invokes emotions within the reader ranging from the dread and desolation of the travels through the Gorgoroth to the eucatastrophe of the Ring being destroyed.

People venturing into Middle-earth who may be feeling rather hopeless about life, can read Tolkien’s stories and feel lifted and with a more hopeful outlook. There is inspiration and strength knowing that if the Fellowship can face the might of evil and endure, then all of us can face our challenges with hope. Much of Tolkien’s writing is catharsis in novel form, in that anyone can read his works and get some kind of relief from the journey it takes you on. His characters face hopeless situations, and yet, they always find a way, they persist, they go on. Tolkien constructs a story of how the brave underdogs win, and gives hope to many of us, weaving applicability into the narratives in ways we can find meaning true for us. It is such an emotive place, you are left with the dream, "I would really like to visit Middle-earth?"

There is a reality and balance as well with much that is evil, mundane and challenging. The greed of the Sackville-Baggins, the willful ignorance of Ted Sandyman, the pride of Denethor, the pride and greed of Thorin Oakenshield, the greed of the Master of Laketown.

Has to be a gateway

Most importantly, it needs to enthuse and excite so that viewers go on to read The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, Histories of Middle-earth, or the extensive other written material, join a fan club and begin a lifetime love for the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien.