Amazon's anticipated original series based on the Lord of the Rings finally has a release date for Prime Video: Friday 2 September 2022. Alongside the announcement of a release date, Amazon Studios shared an official first image from the yet-to-be-named TV show.

Keep in mind production has wrapped up in New Zealand, and eagle-eyed fans believe the show will be set in Valinor, as the new image shows what looks like the Two Trees. Set in Middle-earth’s Second Age, the series will take place thousands of years before JRR Tolkien’s novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. It will follow characters “both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth", according to Amazon Studios.

Reportedly, Amazon spent $465 million to produce the first season. Showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay are billed as executive producers.  

“As Bilbo says, ‘Now I think I am quite ready to go on another journey,’” Payne and McKay said in a joint statement to Hollywood Reporter. “Living and breathing Middle-earth these many months has been the adventure of a lifetime. We cannot wait for fans to have the chance to do so as well.”

The duo has also confirmed a sprawling cast: Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Maxim Baldry, Nazanin Boniadi, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Charles Edwards, Trystan Gravelle, Sir Lenny Henry, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Lloyd Owen, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, Leon Wadham, Benjamin Walker, Daniel Weyman, and Sara Zwangobani. 

Expect Amazon's Lord of the Rings show to premiere in more than 240 territories and countries when it lands on Prime Video next year.