Do I have any idea why the Instagram page for Amazon Prime’s The Lord Of The Rings just randomly announced twenty new cast-members for the upcoming series this morning without doing the same on their Twitter account, and seemingly without any warning? No, I do not. Today is not a holiday in the Tolkien fandom, and it has no great significance in the chronologies of Middle-earth (Frodo spent all of December comfortably and unremarkably hunkered down in Rivendell). That being said, am I objecting in any way, shape, or form? No, I most certainly am not. The twenty new additions widen and diversify the series’ main cast dramatically, giving us a little more insight into what Amazon Prime is aiming for with their epic adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings.
Unlike today’s date, the number twenty is especially significant in Tolkien’s deep lore, as it’s the number of Rings of Power that were forged in the Second Age, all but three under the influence and guidance of Sauron. Amazon Prime’s The Lord Of The Rings, as we’ve discussed many times, takes place sometime during the Second Age, three-thousand years before the events of the novel itself. This Age of Middle-earth’s history is only vaguely sketched out in the pages of The Lord Of The Rings, with more information coming from the book’s extensive appendices – and mostly from Tolkien’s posthumously published works, including Unfinished Tales. But if you want to read more about that, you can check out several posts I’ve written on the subject, including my timeline of the Second Age; right now, let’s get to the good stuff!
First up, the casting announcements confirm some things we’ve already known or strongly suspected for a while now. Simon Merrells, Maxim Baldry, and Augustus Prew, all of whom have been rumored to be appearing in the series, have now officially joined. A special shoutout is in order for Fellowship Of Fans, who expertly pieced together the theory that Prew had joined The Lord Of The Rings just a few weeks ago. By a truly bizarre coincidence, Benjamin Walker, the husband of actress Kaya Scodelario, is also among the newly announced cast-members: Scodelario, of course, was recently believed to have been cast in the series, although that turned out to be untrue. But she now has a connection to the show anyway, so that’s actually pretty cool.
The new batch of casting also includes a number of BIPOC actors, including Ghanaian-American actress Cynthia Addai-Robinson (star of Spartacus, Arrow, and Power, and now among The Lord Of The Rings‘ most well-known, mainstream, stars); Jamaican-English comedian Lenny Henry; Sri Lankan stage actress Thusitha Jayasundera; Māori-Niuean-Samoan actor Alex Tarrant; actress Sara Zwangobani; and actress Maxine Cunliffe. The commitment to hiring a diverse, multi-ethnic cast is admirable.
Additionally, the cast now includes Ian Blackburn, Christopher Chapman, Anthony Crum, Trystan Gravelle, Fabian McCallum, Geoff Morrell (who has a very impressive beard; if I were in the business of clickbait, I would already be theorizing that he’s playing Gandalf, even though Gandalf doesn’t appear in Middle-earth until the Third Age), Peter Mullan, Lloyd Owen, Peter Tait (who played Shagrat and a Corsair of Umbar in The Lord Of The Rings trilogy), and Leon Wadham. If I learn anything particularly interesting about any of these actors’ backgrounds and/or past film credits, I will be sure to update this post accordingly, although it seems most of them are either complete unknowns or hail from a background in theatre.
We will, of course, be breaking all of this down in the near future, as I begin to compose my thoughts on who each actor could be playing, etc., but for now this is the breaking news – and exciting news indeed! It’s been a long time since The Lord Of The Rings‘ official social media accounts have posted anything (the last occasion being a tribute to the late Sir Ian Holm), and we’ve all been growing very impatient over here in the Tolkien fandom.
So what do you think? Do you recognize any of these newly-announced actors, and if so, do you like their work? Share your own thoughts, theories, and opinions, in the comments below!