Why Amazon announced Lord of the Rings' premiere date 13 months in advance

Vulture

The J.R.R. Tolkien series recently completed filming, but it won't make its debut on Amazon Prime Video until Sept. 22, 2022. "While such long gestation periods often signal behind-the-scenes trouble for a production, in this case, it is more likely a hint of how ambitious Amazon plans to be in its quest to turn the very costly show into a game-changing hit," explains Josef Adalian. "The fact that LOTR is still another year away from hitting screens really shouldn’t come as a shock. Sure, there had been trade paper speculation on a late 2021 or early 2022 premiere. But considering filming on the COVID-delayed first season was still taking place as late as April of this year, those reports always seemed wildly optimistic — particularly given the post-production complexities of such a massive project. What is a bit surprising is that Amazon opted to stake out a specific spot on the calendar so far in advance. Though probably not unprecedented, that’s unusual for TV— even big projects such as LOTR. Normally networks and platforms will keep things vague until two or three months before launch, at most hinting only that a tentpole release will drop in the summer or fall. The longest advance heads-up I can recall in recent years came back on New Year’s Eve 2018, when Netflix revealed a July 4, 2019, arrival for Stranger Things 3. Claiming a date a year or more into the future is a tactic usually reserved for the feature-film world, where studios regularly pencil in premieres for big franchises before a single frame is shot. Given Amazon shelled out a reported quarter-billion dollars just for the rights to make a new LOTR, it makes sense that the company is treating the show like a movie event. Given Amazon shelled out a reported quarter-billion dollars just for the rights to make a new LOTR, it makes sense that the company is treating the show like a movie event. While the date announce was a bit more low-key than might have been expected — a simple press release as opposed to a splashy TV ad or Alexa broadcasting the news to her millions of users as they brushed their teeth — the timing allows the company to head off any press speculation about the status of LOTR. Instead of wondering when the show will finally be a reality, the focus now shifts to the countdown to premiere. And it also gives Amazon’s marketing team maximum flexibility in planning what will almost certainly be a relentless effort to make sure audiences around the world know when the journey back to Middle Earth kicks off."