“I wisely started with a map.” So said Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien about creating his epic world, and now Amazon has done the same thing to hype us for their upcoming series.
Deadline reports that while Amazon executives said there’s “no timetable” on when audiences may see their insanely expensive show based on the iconic franchise, the company has launched the show’s social media to start promoting it.
LotR on Prime now has a Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. But, so far, the only things on there are the aforementioned Tolkien quote and this map, marking the start of the adventure.
That’s a map of Middle Earth, obviously, but without most of the names and such we’re used to seeing on it in other maps such as this one.
The two look similar, though Deadline’s report says, “More questions than answers, so far, but one sharp-eyed fan already noted that the ‘map shows Middle-earth post-War of Wrath since Beleriand isn’t on it, meaning the show takes place in the Second of Third Age.’”
Now, whether that’s accurate or not, we can’t say. All we know for sure is it will feature “previously unexplored stories”. But obviously, Amazon put this online for fans to discuss and inspect. In fact, they even have a huge interaction version online where you can download it, zoom in and scroll around.
It’s a good way for Lord of the Rings fans to kill around 30 minutes in the probably two to three years before we see the show.
But, with those social media channels now up, it seems likely that’s where more things will be revealed, including casting and other updates on the show. We’ll definitely be following.