'Lord of the Rings': Amazon renews series ahead of premiere

Nov. 19 (UPI) -- Amazon has renewed its Lord of the Rings series ahead of the show's premiere.

The company confirmed Monday on Twitter that it picked up the forthcoming fantasy series for a second season.

"'The road goes ever on and on.' #LOTRonPrime," the post reads, quoting "The Walking Song," a song Bilbo Baggins sings in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books.

Deadline said pre-production on Season 1 is underway in New Zealand. The series will go on a 4-5 month hiatus after filming the first two episodes for Season 1, during which the writing team will map out and write the bulk of the Season 2 scripts.

Completing the Season 2 scripts will allow the Lord of the Rings team to possibly film part of Season 2 during the Season 1 shoot or film the remainder of Season 1 and Season 2 back-to-back.

The Lord of the Rings series is based on the J.R.R. Tolkien book series of the same name, which was previously adapted by Peter Jackson as a trilogy of films. The show is set in Middle Earth and will take place in the Second Age.

J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay will serve as showrunners and executive producers, with J.A. Bayona to direct the first two episodes.

Amazon has yet to announce the official cast, although Will Poulter is reportedly up for the lead role.