‘Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’ director J.A. Bayona has jumped on board Amazon’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ series to direct the first two episodes.

Based on J. R. R. Tolkien’s iconic fantasy novels ‘The Lord of the Rings’; he will also serve as an executive producer, alongside his partner Belén Atienza.

“J.R.R. Tolkien created one of the most extraordinary and inspiring stories of all time, and as a lifelong fan it is an honour and a joy to join this amazing team,” said Bayona. “I can’t wait to take audiences around the world back to Middle-earth and have them discover the wonders of the Second Age, with a never-before-seen story.”

Adapting Tolkien’s fantasy tale for a multi-seasonal series, Amazon’s venture will explore new storylines that take place prior to ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ in a deal that includes a potential additional spin-off series.

JD Payne and Patrick McKay will serve as writers for the original series.

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The original series is set to be produced by Amazon Studios with the cooperation of the Tolkien Estate, HarperCollins and New Line Cinema. A representative for the estate and HarperCollins stated: “The team at Amazon Studios have exceptional ideas to bring to the screen previously unexplored stories based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s original writings.”

We last had an encounter with Tolkien’s Middle Earth on the big screen in 2003, when Peter Jackson rounded off his trilogy with The Return of the King – The film series was considered to be one of the largest and most ambitious film projects undertaken with a budget well over $200 million going towards its creation. The entire project took eight years to complete with all three films being filmed back to back in New Zealand. The saga comprised of a cast of Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Andy Serkis, Karl Urban and a whole host more.