The Producers Of Amazon’s Incredibly Expensive ‘Lord Of The Rings’ Had An Anxiety Attack Over That Tom Hanks Development

Jeff Bezos once reportedly said that he really wanted Amazon to have its own Game of Thrones, and the streaming service took a shot at this with Wheel of Time, but the show that’s really intended to go there is the long-gestating Lord of the Rings series. It’s finally all happening (apparently on September 2, 2022), so let the previews begin.

Vanity Fair got that ball rolling with a feature chock full of exclusive images and tidbits including discussion of the show’s budget, which Reuters previously reported at $465 million, and Vanity Fair did some more leg work. Amazon wouldn’t explicitly confirm any number, but apparently, the government of New Zealand says the first-season budget came in slightly cheaper at $462 million, as opposed to Wheel of Time‘s $80 million per season and Game of Thrones‘ $90 million for the final (underwhelming) season.

With a show of this scale, one can imagine that the pandemic reality created a lot of wallet-related concerns, and co-showrunner Patrick McKay confirmed that this was the case. And yep, that big Tom Hanks moment sparked a great deal of anxiety:

…the show’s crew were glued to their phones: Within 45 minutes, word spread that in nearby Australia Tom Hanks had contracted COVID, the NBA had canceled its season, and the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic. “We’re all just going, ‘Oh, my God, what are we going to do We’re going to have to shut everything down,'” says Payne. The panic metastasized, setting off other anxieties, big and small. “It was terrifying. ‘Oh, my God, is anyone going to understand what we’re trying to do here Is this way too ambitious We have no idea what’s going to happen tomorrow.'”

Yep, that’s one of those historic moments where you’ll always remember where you were when you heard about the Saving Private Ryan star contracting Covid. For McKay and fellow showrunner JD Payne, they were juggling hundreds of millions of dollars and navigating through a Galadriel water scene, whereas for myself I’d just left a yoga class and felt all relaxation evaporate. That’s not exactly comparable, but hey, we’re all living through this thing.

McKay also did let everyone know that Lord of the Rings will not be full of sex and violence like GoT. In his words, Amazon set out “to make a show for everyone, for kids who are 11, 12, and 13, even though sometimes they might have to pull the blanket up over their eyes if it’s a little too scary.” The tone might sometimes be intense and scary, but ultimately, optimism and and themes of friendship and vanquishing the darkness will prevail. In 2022, that could hit just right.