Amazon Studios has announced that Swedish-French Director Charlotte Brändström will helm two episodes of the upcoming The Lord of the Rings television series.
She joins an impressive international directing team that also features Spanish filmmaker J.A. Bayona (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom; The Impossible) and British-Chinese director Wayne Che Yip (Preacher; Marvel's Cloak & Dagger).
In her official statement, Brändström said, “I’m very excited to be guided through Middle-earth by JD’s and Patrick’s vision and immerse myself in the iconic world of J.R.R. Tolkien. It’s a great privilege to be in New Zealand to work with Amazon Studios’ outstanding ensemble of creative talents,” and added a nice little nod to Gimli, "There are countless things still to see in Middle-earth, and great works to do.”
J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay are serving as showrunners and executive producers. Filming is still ongoing on the eight-episode first season, and Amazon has already ordered season two.
The massive ensemble cast features the likes of Robert Aramayo (Mindhunter; Game of Thrones), Owain Arthur (The One and Only Ivan; Babylon), Nazanin Boniadi (Hotel Mumbai; Bombshell), Ismael Cruz Córdova (The Undoing; The Mandalorian), and Morfydd Clark (Dracula; His Dark Materials) as Galadriel, amongst others.
Brändström's past credits include Jupiter's Legacy, The Outsider, The Witcher, The Man in the High Castle, Madam Secretary, Outlander, Chicago P.D., Grey's Anatomy, and Arrow.
Amazon Studios’ forthcoming series brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth's history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.