A Lord of the Rings TV series would come with “insane” costs: $200-$250 million for the rights, $100-$150 million per season

Deadline

HBO passed a while back, according to Deadline, because of the “insane” financial costs, leaving Amazon and Netflix in the running for the potential J.R.R. Tolkien series. According to Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva, there is also concern that the Lord of the Rings TV rights “do not encompass all characters and are limited.” She adds that the $200-$250 million rights don’t include “costs for development, talent and production. It is a payment that has to be made sight unseen as there is no concept, and there are no creative auspices attached to the possible series.”