‘Lord of the Rings’: Will Poulter No Longer Attached to Amazon Series (EXCLUSIVE)

By Joe Otterson

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Will Poulter will not be appearing in Amazon’s upcoming “” series after all, Variety has learned exclusively.

According to an individual with knowledge of the situation, scheduling conflicts will prevent the “Bandersnatch” and “Midsommar” actor from joining the show based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Variety had exclusively reported on Poulter’s involvement with the series back in September. The exact nature of the role Poulter was to play remains a mystery, but the search for a replacement is now underway. Other actors reportedly attached to star in the series are Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Maxim Baldry, and Ema Horvath.

The “Lord of the Rings” series is being developed by the writing team of JD Payne and Patrick McKay. In addition, “Game of Thrones” alum Bryan Cogman has signed on as a consulting producer on the project with J.A. Bayona set to direct multiple episodes.

In addition to those previously mentioned, the show’s full creative team will consist of: executive producers Lindsey Weber, Bruce Richmond, Gene Kelly, and ’s former head of genre programming Sharon Tal Yguado; writer and executive producer Gennifer Hutchison; writer and executive producer Jason Cahill; writer and executive producer Justin Doble; consulting producer Stephany Folsom; producer Ron Ames; writer and co-producer Helen Shang; and writing consultant Glenise Mullins. Bayona will also executive produce along with his partner Belén Atienza.

Little is known about the plot of the “Lord of the Rings” series beyond the fact it will explore new storylines preceding J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Fellowship of the Ring.” The show’s official Twitter account sent out an  image of a map  along with the two messages: “One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them, In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie,” as well as “Welcome to the Second Age.” In the Tolkien mythology, the Second Age was the time in which the Rings of Power, including Sauron’s One Ring, came into existence.

Variety exclusively reported  in November 2017 that a “Lord of the Rings” series was in the works at Amazon, with the streamer announcing a multi-season production commitment shortly thereafter. The series will be produced by Amazon Studios in cooperation with the Tolkien Estate and Trust, HarperCollins, and New Line Cinema, a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment.