Here’s How Involved Jeff Bezos Was In Amazon Prime’s ‘The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power’

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TOPLINE

At the U.K. premiere on Tuesday of Amazon Prime Video’s new series The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos thanked showrunners Patrick McKay and John D. Payne for ignoring his input “at exactly the right times.”

KEY FACTS

Amazon announced in 2017 it had partnered with J.R.R. Tolkien’s estate for a multi-season Lord Of The Rings series, and it was reported the company paid roughly $250 million for the rights to the story. 

Bezos was said to be personally involved in the negotiations for the rights, Variety reported at the time.

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The first season of the show, which is eight episodes long, cost $465 million to make, the Hollywood Reporter reported last year, and Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke said in May the budget went to “building the infrastructure of what will sustain the whole series.” 

At Tuesday’s premiere, Bezos joked that it’s “every showrunner’s dream…to get notes on scripts and early cuts from the founder and executive chairman.” 

Bezos, a lifelong Tolkien fan, said one of his sons warned him to “please don’t eff this up.”

The billionaire defended choosing relatively unknown showrunners to helm the series, calling it “one of the best decisions we made.”

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WHAT TO WATCH FOR 

The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power premieres on Amazon Prime Video on Friday. 

KEY BACKGROUND

The Rings Of Power takes place in Middle-earth thousands of years before The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit. The LOTR trilogy cost roughly $285 million to make, and the Hobbit trilogy cost a reported $623 million. 

TANGENT

The Rings Of Power is directly competing with HBO’s House of The Dragon, another fantasy prequel to the Game Of Thrones series. HOTD premiered last week, and is already breaking audience records for HBO and HBO Max. 

FORBES VALUATION 

$152.9 billion. That’s Bezos’ estimated net worth, according to Forbes, making him the No. 3 richest person in the world on Wednesday. 

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By Marisa Dellatto, Forbes Staff

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