As the second season of “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” approaches, the show-runners have shared insights into the high costs associated with its production.
The first season of “The Rings of Power” stands as one of the most expensive productions ever, with costs estimated around $140 million.
This figure is inflated due to the challenges posed by COVID-19, and it doesn’t even include the enormous $250 million that Amazon spent to secure the television rights to “Lord of the Rings.”
Deadline reported that when Amazon acquired these rights, the expected $100-150 million production budget per season over a planned five seasons would push the total cost beyond a billion dollars.
So, where does all that money actually go?
Although the series is visually grand, it lacks the presence of high-paid stars like Robert Downey Jr, who is reportedly earning $100 million for his role in the next two Avengers movies.
When asked about the show’s high expenses, they humorously added “reportedly” but explained that the majority of the budget is dedicated to maintaining the highest quality.
Patrick McKay said: “We’re incredibly fortunate that Amazon looked at the scope of Tolkien’s imagination and decided that it was worth the resources that it would take to bring it into fruition in the way that it deserved.
“We don’t really tend to think about how much, just we tend to think about getting it right.
“We look at each of the worlds, whether it’s Khazad Dum with the Dwarves, or Lindon with the Elves, or Numenor and our Halflings, and we say, what is it going to take to realize that world?
“If we can’t do it in a way that, you know, is spectacular, we don’t do it.”
This statement comes ahead of the second season, where “spectacular” is certainly an apt description.
The showrunners revealed that one battle, teased in the trailers, will be a full-scale historical-style siege spanning three episodes.
J.D. Payne explained: “We wanted to do a proper siege, not just so it takes place over a matter of hours, but a matter of actually, like weeks.
“We go through a whole series of different kinds of battles within that siege battle, where there’s a horse charge, then there’s something involving water, then there’s an aerial bombardment, and there’s sort of almost trench warfare in the muck.
“There’s a troll fight. There’s a thing at a wall with battlements.”
They even hinted at intense “Stalingrad-like” street fighting, saying: “It’s many different kinds of battle all taking place over the course of this one huge, epic siege.”
“Rings of Power” season episodes 1-3 will release on August 29, with subsequent episodes releasing weekly.