AMAZON’S multi-million dollar TV version of “The Lord of the Rings” will launch in September 2022, Amazon Studios said Monday. The streaming platform said filming on the first season has wrapped in New Zealand, and it released the first images of the show. “The journey begins Sept. 2, 2022 with the premiere of our original ‘The Lord of the Rings’ series on Prime Video,” Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, said in a statement. Amazon is spending about US$465 million filming the first season of the show, according to New Zealand government officials. It is expecting to make five seasons of the show, making it one of the most expensive TV series ever. It said in a press release that the first season would be available in more than 240 nations, with new episodes released weekly. The epic fantasy plot will take place thousands of years before the events narrated by writer J.R.R. Tolkien in his books “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings.” (SD-Agencies) | 