Report on the future of the Rings of Power shows that Amazon’s 5-season plan is too big to fail

This article contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

Amazon Prime Video The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power emerged on screens in 2022 to a disappointingly mixed reception, but reports show that Amazon is far from done with its high-budget fantasy show. Amazon sought its own version of game of thrones, Or a water-cooler show — something people would talk about on their work breaks by the water cooler, according to the term’s origins. Game of Thrones had a unique impact on television, bringing fantasy to a mainstream television audience just like that The Lord of the Rings Popularized fantasy in mainstream cinema in the 2000s. But Rings of power Season 2 is proving a unique value all its own, carving a distinctive position in streaming.

While Rings of power It was criticized for its writing and differences from Tolkien’s story, it showed signs of massive success. The Lord of the Rings Has a notoriously protective fandom, which became apparent in the aftermath of Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings And Hobbit Movies. Many Tolkien fans are particularly resistant to unfaithful adaptations, which actually helps maintain high production standards. However, the reactions of the audience are so diverse and including a lot of disapproval can obscure the reality, which is Rings of power is doing very well, and will likely continue to do so.

The Rings of Power report suggests that Amazon has faith in the Rings of Power

Amazon will likely run the show for five seasons

Amazon seems intent on continuing with The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of PowerDespite not having officially greenlit a third season. A new exclusive from The Hollywood Reporter revealed that production of Rings of power Season 3 has been underway for months. Amazon has not renewed season 3 yetBut it seems like that could just be a technicality. Amazon reported, according to the exclusive, that it is happy with viewership figures for The rings of power In his second season. This makes sense because figures compare favorably to competitors.

The rings of power Accrued over 40 million viewers in the first 11 days of the broadcast of season 2, which covered 4 episodes. You can compare with this House of the Dragonwhich secured 7.8 million viewers for episode 1 and 8.1 million viewers for episode 4. House of the Dragon Episode 4 viewing figures are high in the series. More detailed viewing figures are not available for any show, however What information is available paints a very positive picture of The rings of power. It’s not surprising that Amazon has faith in its second-generation Middle-earth show.

So many of the Rings of Power’s best stories won’t happen until the later seasons

Rings of Power has its best years ahead of it

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Tells one of Tolkien’s most glorious stories, but it doesn’t necessarily get to the best bits yet. The relationship between Celebrimbor and Annatar Blossoming has proven to have dark, twisted and juicy layers, and that alone is worthy of a TV show. however, The titular focus of the show is the reason for its existenceAnd it has only really just started to home in on it. Rings of power Season 2 becomes more and more Tolkienian in its focus on the forging of Sauron’s rings of power and the villainous elves who allow it to happen. This is the heart of the second age.

With the three elvish rings of power having finally been forged in The rings of power Season 1 finale, season 2 has exciting divided dwarf-rings. Perhaps most exciting of all, The nine rings should come. When Sauron chooses the recipients of the nine rings for men, audiences will get to see an unprecedented and creatively devised origin story for the Nazgûl. It only gets better from there, with the fall of Númenor likely in the offing Rings of power Season 3, and the series to end with the war of the last alliance. After all, showrunners promised a five-season version of The Fellowship of the Ring Prologue (by Time).

Amazon has invested too much in the rings of power to stop now

Amazon’s investment should pay off

Amazon has spent more on Rings of power Like any other show in its history, and it is very unlikely that it will return from this investment now. actually, Rings of power is the most expensive television show ever made. Rights cost Amazon $250 million, with the budget for season 1 reported as $465 million (via Screen Rant). With a minimum price tag of $1 billion attached to the show, the show will be deeply embedded in Amazon’s business strategy. Amazon reduced its marketing budget for the show’s second season, as is standard practice, which will help create positive ROI. Amazon also makes money from the optician Lord of the Rings Products are sold on Amazon’s marketplace.

Amazon is far more likely to proceed with reaping the rewards of increased subscribers from the show on an ongoing basis than it is to fail, with the former far more likely to generate ROI. Buying on the show would demonstrate a lack of confidence to investors, which could be a terrible move for Amazon. There is currently no reason why Amazon would change its strategy In this section, as it has seen year-on-year growth since 2022 (through CIRP). Viewing figures are reported to have fallen between Rings of power Seasons 1 and 2, but that’s normal.

Game of Thrones Figures have actually risen over the consecutive seasons, but the show captured a unique moment in the zeitgeist of popular culture, and such situations are not around every corner. Having fewer viewers in the show’s first season is far from a red flagAnd in fact, 40 million viewers in 11 days is a good sign. Amazon Fallout Amassed 65 million viewers in 16 days, so there’s obviously room for improvement on Amazon’s part (via Variety). However, if JD Payne and Patrick McKay can continue to tell the right stories and nail a delicate balance between character development and fidelity to the texts, then The Lord of the Rings: The rings of power Stands to be a long-term asset to the Amazon.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter, Time, CIRP, Variety