Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings series has found another director to offer up their axe. Swedish-French filmmaker Charlotte Brändström, who has directed episodes of The Witcher and Outlander, has boarded the show as the latest director, joining the likes of J.A. Bayona and Wayne Che Yip.
Amazon Studios announced that Charlotte Brändström has joined the creative team of the upcoming The Lord of the Rings TV series and will helm two episodes of the fantasy show. She’ll follow the groundwork set by Bayona (Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom) and British Chinese director Wayne Che Yip (Doctor Who), who have directed two episodes and four episodes, respectively. The series is currently filming in New Zealand.
Brändström was nominated for an international Emmy for the 2004 TV movie Julie, chevalier de Maupin. But she’s probably best known Stateside for directing episodes of The Witcher, The Man in the High Castle, and Outlander. Most recently, she’s directed episodes of Jupiter’s Legacy. Her experience on The Witcher in particular, for the episodes “Rare Species” and “Bottled Appetites,” should be perfect training for a high-fantasy epic like Lord of the Rings, which is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s seminal books that set the standard for modern fantasy.
“I’m very excited to be guided through Middle-earth by JD’s and Patrick’s vision and immerse myself in the iconic world of J.R.R. Tolkien. It’s a great privilege to be in New Zealand to work with Amazon Studios’ outstanding ensemble of creative talents,” Brändström said in a statement. She even quotes Gimli from Lord of the Rings to prove her credentials, adding, “There are countless things still to see in Middle-earth, and great works to do,”
The Lord of the Rings TV series “is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness. Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.”
Showrunners and executive producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay spearhead Amazon’s most ambitious (and expensive) original project yet, with a core cast of mostly newcomers that include Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Budge, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, and Daniel Weyman.
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