John Paul M. Joaquin Culture 08.30.2022 01:Aug AM EDT

What Does Jeff Bezos Have to Say About ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’

Amazon's founder thinks making "The Rings of Power" goes beyond creating another commercially successful show.

Jeff Bezos recently told TIME that he wants "the Lord Of the Rings" fans to stop thinking that Amazon's upcoming series, "The Rings of Power," is just another cash grab.

Amazon's non-canon prequel series to Tolkien's books and Jackson's films is set to air on Sept.2.

Jeff Bezos' Thoughts On 'Rings of Power'

Jeff Bezos mentioned in his exclusive email to TIME that he wants to dissuade fans from thinking Amazon's motives for making "Rings" are purely about the money it could gain from it.

Amazon's founder, a fan of high fantasy and science fiction per Variety, thinks that Middle Earth is a much-beloved world and that telling the story of the forging of the Rings of Power is "a privilege and a responsibility."

"I hope we do Tolkien's work justice," Bezos said. "It goes beyond making a commercially successful show. Everyone working on the show read these stories as kids and our hearts are in it."

Bezos' assurances follow the worries aired by Tolkien fans and scholars that the show was merely a cash grab that might ruin their favorite fantasy story.

After all, Bezos is one of them - a "Tolkien aficionado."

Despite Bezos' assurances, there is much riding on the success of "Rings," and it's not just because of the novels it is loosely based on.

According to Gamespot, Amazon paid $250 for the rights alone and $468 million for the production costs for the TV series first season. The overall cost made many consider it the most expensive TV show ever made.

Amazon was also willing to pay $13 million to air an ad for the TV series during the most recent Super Bowl event.

Unfortunately, the TV series has stiff competition in the form of HBO's "House of the Dragon," a fellow prequel TV series that focuses on the Targaryen dynasty at the height of their power during the in-lore conflict known as the "Dance of the Dragons," per HBO and CNET.

The Rings of Power Synopsis And Details

Amazon's "The Rings of Power" TV series is based on the appendices in "The Lord of the Rings," which includes an abridged history of the events covered in Tolkien's "The Silmarillion," per a separate CNET article.

The TV series takes place in the Second Age, a thousand years before the events of the main trilogy. It focuses on the creation of the 19 Rings of Power - the same rings that were featured during the opening sequence of Peter Jackson's live-action movie "The Fellowship of the Ring."

These rings will be the crux of Sauron's plan to dominate all life in Middle Earth as he would later forge the One Ring - the control ring that will bring all of the ring bearers under his corruption and sway, per the LOTR Fandom.