Evangeline Lilly Rumored To Return For Amazon’s Lord of the Rings
Evangeline Lilly returning to Middle-earth? There might not be a more anticipated upcoming series than Amazon’s Lord of the Rings and while the production has been relatively quiet so far, a new rumor hints at the return of a familiar face
According to a rumor from We Got This Covered from an unnamed source, Lost’s Evangeline Lilly might be returning to the world of Middle-earth. Lilly’s Tauriel wouldn’t be the only returning character, as a Twitter post from @theoneringnet states that Galadriel, Elrond, and Sauron are all confirmed to come back. However, this post doesn’t state if the original actors, Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving will return.
Evangeline Lilly potentially returning as Tauriel’s is an interesting choice, considering the character never appeared in any of the original works of J.R.R. Tolkien. The captain of the Elven Guard is an original character created for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Since Tauriel doesn’t appear in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, this hints that Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series will likely come close to The Hobbit timeline.
IndieWire states that Amazon has confirmed the series will be a prequel, with a rumor that the series would focus on a young Aragorn. Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings Twitter account posted maps of Middle-earth that seem to imply that the series would take place far earlier before Aragorn was born. However, the map did show the island of Númenor, which Aragorn’s ancestors called home. How Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel would fit into all this? We don’t know yet.
The Lord of the Rings series will take place in Middle-earth’s Second Age. Both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place thousands of years after The Second Age. It is during The Second Age when Sauron creates the One Ring. The Second Age was 3,441 years, so plenty of breathing room for a series.
The Hollywood Reporter said back in 2018 that Amazon beat Netflix for the television rights to The Lord of the Rings, a fight which led to Amazon paying $250 million. Estimates state that The Lord of the Rings will be the most expensive TV series ever, costing over $1 billion when all is said and done. Amazon’s deal also comes with a five-season commitment, which could be extended to more if the series is successful. And again, 3,441 years. Surely, there are more than five seasons worth of material there.
After Lost, Evangeline Lilly joined a number of high-profile releases. Her first post-Lost work was 2011’s Real Steel, followed by her appearances in The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of the Five Armies. The year after The Hobbit concluded, Lilly joined the MCU as Hope van Dyne in Ant-Man and then made her debut as Wasp in 2018’s Ant-Man and the Wasp, followed by her appearance in Avengers: Endgame. Lilly has recently wrapped Till Death and Dreamland and will return in Ant-Man 3, which is currently scheduled for release in 2022.
The Hobbit was already in production in New Zealand earlier this year, but closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Plans are for the production to resume this year, with a plan for a 2021 release date.
