Amazon’s upcoming Lord of the Rings prequel series, The Rings of Power, is coming up fast. The series premiere is only a month and a half away, and a new full trailer was just released to begin really building up excitement for the show. The story of The Rings of Power is set in the Second Age of Middle Earth, thousands of years prior to the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s most iconic stories, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The story will pull from the Appendices of Tolkien’s books, which detail the history of Middle Earth, the rise of Sauron, and the forging of the rings of power (hence the name of the show).

The Rings of Power is set to be one of the biggest television events of the year. Or at least on paper, it should be. Considering the strength and popularity of the show’s source material, it’s not a far stretch to expect this series to perform on similar levels to shows like Game of Thrones or even the newer Star Wars series on Disney+. However, considering how close to release this series is, there seems to be a lack of excitement surrounding it. Here’s why that might be and why there’s no need to worry too much at this point.

New Characters and a Different Continuity

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Amazon Studios

One of the biggest reasons for apprehension regarding this show is how different it will be from the likes of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies. There are two key reasons for the differences. Firstly, and most obviously, is the difference in time period. Seeing as The Rings of Power is set thousands of years before those stories, it would make sense that the world would be a very different place. There are a few characters that remain, such as Elrond and Galadriel, in addition to other characters such as Isildur and Elendil who were briefly seen during flashbacks in the films. However, the overall difference in time and setting gives The Rings of Power the freedom to introduce and explore a variety of entirely new characters.

The second and larger reason this show has a notably different feel from what has come before is that, well, it is entirely separated from the films. The Rings of Power exists in an entirely new continuity for Middle Earth. This show is being produced by Amazon rather than Warner Bros, who owns the rights to the Peter Jackson films. So, while new versions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings will certainly occur much later in this show’s timeline, those stories are not the same versions that fans have already seen on screen. This difference is also the reason for the lack of any returning cast from the film series. Cate Blanchett’s Galadriel and Hugo Weaving’s Elrond have been recast with younger actors who will hopefully bring something new to the roles.

Over the course of several seasons, The Rings of Power will likely build up to the war between Sauron and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, which was depicted in the prologue to The Fellowship of the Ring. Since this show exists in a new continuity, it isn’t beholden to depict that war in the same way as the films. Assuming the show goes in that direction, and it is successful enough to get that far, the showrunners’ creative hands won’t be tied to what has already been shown, and they’ll be able to tell that story in whatever way they see best fit for this series.

Related: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Images Reveal First Look at Orcs

Immense Amazon Budget

Evil forces at work in The Rings of Power
Amazon Studios

There has been a lot of talk and reporting on the budget for The Rings of Power, with many throwing around that Amazon has spent a billion dollars producing this first season alone. Considering the show is being produced by a company as large as Amazon, it makes sense that the show would have an immense budget. The juggernaut company spent $250 million securing the rights to make the show, and The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that the production of the first season alone cost a whopping $465 million. With only eight episodes in this first season, that means that Amazon spent almost $60 million producing each individual episode of this show. Once all the marketing costs are taken into account, it does look like Amazon will have spent over a billion dollars just to make and release this first season.

That budget easily makes The Rings of Power the most expensive television show ever produced. To add some context, HBO spent about $100 million per season on Game of Thrones. Amazon is hoping to produce at least five seasons of this show, so it makes sense that they would want to hit the ground running with a first season that will really amaze audiences. The team behind The Rings of Power seems to be wearing “most expensive show ever produced” as a badge of honor, but that title could end up haunting the show.

It's no secret that Hollywood likes to spend exorbitant amounts of money producing their films and TV shows. Just recently it was reported that the fourth season of Stranger Things cost upwards of $30 million per episode, making it the second most expensive season of television ever, only behind The Rings of Power. However, with such an absurd amount of money being thrown into this new Lord of the Rings series, it seems as if Amazon thinks that more money equals better content. If the story and characters of this show aren’t up to par, this budget issue will only become more apparent. Only time will tell if The Rings of Power warrants its immense budget, but it’s a bit difficult to imagine that it will.

Game of Thrones’ Effect

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Amazon Studios

Game of Thrones seems to have become the biggest cautionary tale of Hollywood over the last decade. Considering the show was one of the most popular pieces of entertainment of the 2010s, to see it drop so utterly drop the ball creatively in its final few seasons was heartbreaking to watch. It’s only been a few years since the Game of Thrones finale, and what was once the most talked about show of all time has been almost entirely forgotten by mainstream audiences. Socially, it seems as if everyone has moved on from the show and has no interest in going back to it. (Has anybody re-watched it since it concluded? Anyone?) When Amazon began developing The Rings of Power, they were hoping for it to become the next Game of Thrones. However, with audience interest in high fantasy material up in the air, the success of this show is on the edge of a knife.

There has yet to be a real test of audience interest in fantasy post-Game of Thrones, so Amazon is somewhat barreling toward the unknown with The Rings of Power. The first gauge of viewer interest will come only a few weeks before the new Middle Earth series launches, as HBO is hoping to revive Game of Thrones with the prequel spin-off series House of the Dragon, which premieres August 21st. Considering both House of the Dragon and The Rings of Power will be airing simultaneously, audiences are about to become inundated with high-budget television fantasy content, meaning we'll find out soon if the genre still has any life in it.

Because the ending of Game of Thrones disappointed so many fans, there may be significantly less interest in these kinds of medieval fantasy stories as there used to be. If that’s the case, then both shows could be in trouble. That’s a big if, though. For all we know at this point, these past few years' post-Game of Thrones might have been the perfect break from this kind of content, and general viewers could be ready to jump back into it. HBO and Amazon are sure hoping that’s the case.

Related: Jon Snow: The Pros and Cons of the New Game of Thrones Spin-Off

Why There’s No Need to Worry

An Elven kingdom in The Rings of Power
Amazon Studios

Alright, now here’s the positive. The best marketing for any television show or movie is word of mouth. If The Rings of Power starts its run and is as incredible as it has the potential to be, people will start talking about it and the viewership will come with that. Thankfully, The Rings of Power actually looks pretty good. The new full trailer that was just released captures much of the elegance and grandeur that Middle Earth and The Lord of the Rings have become known for. The show looks to be exploring Middle Earth in a much deeper and more thorough manner than what has been seen in the films before. The trailer highlights the different cultures of men, elves, dwarves, and harfoots (the predecessors to hobbits), and it does an excellent job of establishing the growing evil within the world; an evil that will likely lead to the rise of Sauron.

With the release of this new trailer, Amazon seems to be kicking off the primary marketing campaign that will continue through the actual premiere of the show. So while there may not seem to be a lot of hype around The Rings of Power right now, that does not mean that there won’t be. As the show draws closer over the next several weeks, there will likely be a very strong marketing push to really get this show onto peoples’ radars. Look at how Disney recently marketed their Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney+ series. While there was a teaser trailer a few months out, the first full trailer for the show wasn’t released until the beginning of May, only a few weeks before the show began its five-week run. With such a short marketing push, the show still managed to become one of the most successful series on Disney+ to date. With Amazon seemingly just starting the real marketing for The Rings of Power, they still have plenty of time to get viewers excited about the show.