Those longing for a return to Middle Earth can get excited for Amazon Prime’s upcoming series based on J.R.R. Tokien’s The Lord of the Rings novels.

Much like the iconic Peter Jackson series, filming will take place in New Zealand. Production was halted back in March after just one month of filming, but is expected to resume in September as the country has granted border exemptions to the cast and crew.

Originally thought to be an origin story for the character of Aragorn, it has been confirmed that the series will actually take place during the Second Age of Middle Earth, which spans over 3,000 years, long before Aragorn’s time, acting as a prequel to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings stories.

As of right now, there will be at least five seasons of the show. JD Payne and Patrick McKay are the showrunners, with J.A. Bayona directing the first two episodes. Robert Aramayo, Maxim Baldry and Joseph Mawle lead a cast of mostly original characters, with Mawle in a villainous role. However, Morfydd Clark will play Galadriel (the role played by Cate Blanchett in the Jackson series)

The Lord of the Rings will be the most expensive TV series of all time at a reported cost of over $1 billion dollars—nearly four times the cost of Jackson’s film trilogy.

With the 2021 release date still in tact, there is a lot of secrecy surrounding this highly anticipated series and we can’t wait to see what comes of it.