Middle-earth just got a whole bunch of new residents. On Dec. 3, Amazon announced 20 new cast members joining the Lord Of The Rings TV show, upping the cast list from 15 to 35. In LOTR terms, that's 4 times the size of the Fellowship of the Ring.
Unfortunately, despite this massive tidal wave of actors, Amazon has released zero details on who they will be playing. Still, the sheer size of the cast could give fans some clues as to WTF might be happening in this series. Or, at the very least, some familiar faces might get you excited for what's to come — the new LOTR cast includes Cynthia Addai-Robinson from Power, Benjamin Walker from Jessica Jones, and Peter Mullan from Westworld.
"The world that J.R.R. Tolkien created is epic, diverse and filled with heart," said showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay in a statement announcing the news. "These extraordinarily talented performers, hailing from across the globe, represent the culmination of a multiyear search to find brilliant and unique artists to bring that world to life anew."
OK, so, that doesn't really tell us anything specific, but, coupled with the size of the newly added cast, the statement does hint that the actors will be sprinkled throughout the series, creating a whole new landscape of hobbits, elves, humans, and Orcs. (10 bucks says Walker plays an Aragorn-type human or a fancy elf.)
Here's a full list of who's joining the show: Maxim Baldry, Ian Blackburn, Kip Chapman, Anthony Crum, Maxine Cunliffe, Trystan Gravelle, Sir Lenny Henry, Thusitha Jayasundera, Fabian McCallum, Simon Merrells, Geoff Morrell, Lloyd Owen, Augustus Prew, Alex Tarrant, Leon Wadham, Sara Zwangobani, and Peter Tait.
Of those names, probably the most significant to LOTR fans will be Tait. The actor actually played the Orc Shagrat in Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. That said, it's unlikely that he's reprising his role, considering the new series is reportedly going to take place hundreds of years before the events of LOTR. Still, he could be playing another creature. Or, possibly one of Sauron's first Orcs, as the series takes place in The Second Age, aka when the Rings were created.
Amazon previously announced that the Lord of the Rings show would feature at least one familiar character. Morfydd Clark, for example, will play a young Galadriel, originally played by Cate Blanchett in the LOTR trilogy. So, it's possible Shagrat is somehow involved in the new show. (Though, hopefully for Thait, he's playing a new character requiring way less makeup.) Also previously confirmed as members of the cast are Joseph Mawle (Benjen Stark on Game of Thrones) as the main villain, Oren, and Robert Aramayo (another GoT alum) as one of the lead heroes.
Other than the huge cast and the fact that the show takes place in The Second Age, not much is known about this new Lord of the Rings story. Assuming the series follows the same basic arcs as the LOTR trilogy and the Hobbit films, it seems likely that the show will follow one specific hero, or a group of heroes, as they embark on a cross-Middle-earth adventure.
Here's hoping they run into Orlando Bloom and his bow along the way. I refuse to accept a Lord of the Rings adaptation without Legolas.
Images: Warner Bros. Entertainment Screenshots via YouTube,