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Sean Astin Shares His Thoughts on Amazon’s Potential ‘Lord of the Rings’ Series

Late last week, news broke that Amazon, Warner Bros. and J.R.R Tolkien’s estate were all said to be in very early talks regarding the possible production of a Lord of the Rings series.  Initial reactions from fans seem to be split with some saying the classic novels and beloved Peter Jackson films should never be duplicated while others say as long as the studio makes it their own adaptation, they’d be on board for the series.  While we are waiting to see how these early discussions play out, Samwise Gamgee himself, actor Sean Astin, is weighing in with his thoughts on the potential new series.

Sean Astin Shares His Thoughts on Amazon’s Potential 'Lord of the Rings’ Series

Astin spoke with Kyle Anderson on his SiriusXM show Up All Afternoon with Kyle Anderson and, as it turns out, a Lord of the Rings remake comes as no surprise to Astin.  While he called the idea of the series intriguing, he noted that he’s been saying for years the stories would be remade.  Astin said:

“I’ve been saying for 15 years that maybe like 12 years after Lord of the Rings came out, that it would get remade. And people always said, ‘Oh no, it’ll never get remade! It’s a classic! They could never top it!’ And I’m like, ‘No, it’ll get remade. It’s a massive story! The characters are so beloved.’”

Even though Astin knew the story would get remade at some point in the future, he never actually considered reprising his role in the film.  When asked if he would be interested in playing Samwise once again, he said:

“I’m carrying the Samwise banner for the Peter Jackson version of Lord of the Rings.  When I saw the Amazon thing, that didn’t even occur to me. I just sort of thought, ‘What would it be like to see the next Sam there?’ I think it’s an intriguing idea.  The devil’s in the details. How would they do it? How? Who?”

Sean Astin Shares His Thoughts on Amazon’s Potential 'Lord of the Rings’ Series

Astin believes that a series, such as Lord of the Rings could be a huge success for Amazon if it’s done correctly.  He went on to explain that a big reason why Stranger Things is so successful is that the Duffer Brothers were allowed to complete their vision and have creative control.  Astin said:

“One of the great things about Netflix with Stranger Things is I’m sure they were giving script notes, but I never saw them.  The Duffers got to make their movie. And the same was true with New Line and Peter Jackson and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. First of all, New Zealand’s far away. And there were times they asserted themselves, but in a core way, Peter was making Peter’s movie. So I don’t know. The challenge would be, could they find some team to do it that they could let to their thing, or are they going to squat on it? It’s hard to make a TV series like this by committee.”

Overall, it sounds like Astin is onboard with a series that revisits Middle Earth and the Lord of the Rings trilogy.  What do you think about the possibility of this series being developed?  Would you like to see a Lord of the Rings series over at Amazon?  Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below!

Sean Astin Shares His Thoughts on Amazon’s Potential 'Lord of the Rings’ Series

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