‘The Lord of the Rings‘ TV Series to Premiere in Theaters
While The Lord of the Rings is about to transition from the big screen to the world of streaming television, hardcore fans who want to get the theatrical experience of this new chapter in the saga of Middle-earth will have a chance to do it — with a fairly significant catch.
The first two episodes of Prime Video’s new The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series will premiere on August 31 in theaters, two days before everyone else will be able to watch the show on streaming. But! It will only be playing in Cinemark theaters. If you don’t live near a Cinemark, you are out of luck.
To attend, you need to go to the chain’s website and reserve a ticket. In order to claim one you must be a member of Cinemark Movie Rewards. (There is a free option for that.) Each ticket includes a $10 snack voucher. If you want to attend, you better move quickly. Seats are up for grabs now, and at the theaters I looked at in the New York metro area, most were already completely sold out.
Rather than readapt J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings novels to television, the new show, developed by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, is set in Middle-earth’s Second Age, which took place centuries before the events chronicled in the original books or Peter Jackson’s movies. Still, the show includes some familiar characters from the movies, including the elves Elrond and Galadriel, now played by Robert Aramayo and Morfydd Clark, respectively.
The first two episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will premiere on Amazon’s Prime Video on September 2. The rest of the first season’s episodes will premiere weekly on Fridays.