China hopes Amazon’s Lord of the Rings will fill the void left by Game of Thrones

HBO blockbuster’s disappointing finale leaves Chinese fantasy fans eager for more

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Orlando Bloom starred as the bow-wielding Legolas in the LOTR trilogy, and reprised his role again in 2013’s The Hobbit. (Picture: New Line Cinema)

Karen Chiu

Published: 7:01pm, 29 Jul 2019Updated: 9:10am, 20 Sep 2019

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

Like the rest of the world, China is still reeling from the disappointing conclusion to HBO’s Game of Thrones. But now fans of fantasy dramas can finally look forward to what they hope will be a worthy successor to one of the biggest blockbuster series of our time.

Over the weekend, Amazon released a trailer teasing the creative staff behind their upcoming Lord of the Ring series. The team includes industry heavy hitters who have worked on some of the biggest hits on TV and film, including Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, Toy Story 4, Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom and more.

Amazon’s brand-new series, which doesn’t have a release date yet, will be set in Middle-earth’s Second Age. The period precedes the Third Age depicted in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit. The news has set LOTR fans on fire, including those in China, where the original films hold a special place in the hearts of fans.

“I’ve watched the movies over 10 times and read the original books four to five times,” one ecstatic Weibo user commented. “I memorized the Hobbits’ family tree, drew a map of Middle-earth, learned a number of Sindarin and Quenya phrases, learned to write the Ring Verse in Black Speech, and studied Annals of the Kings and Rulers and The Silmarillion. I should probably get a tattoo of White Tree of Gondor on my back next.”

“Lord of the Rings is a story that can surpass Game of Thrones,” said another commenter. “Looking forward to it.”

“Let’s see if this could become the next Game of Thrones (the first seven seasons),” echoed another person.

Amazon’s Lord of the Rings drama series will take us back to the Age of Númenor, an isle that was home to a kingdom of Men. (Picture: Amazon Studios)