Tom Budge has announced that he is exiting Amazon Prime’s much-anticipated Lord of the Rings TV Series. The 39-year-old actor recently announced his exit via Instagram.
“Hello loves, It is with great sadness that I am writing to tell you I have departed Amazon’s ‘Lord Of The Rings’ television series,” Budge writes. He continues:
After recently seeing the first episodes shot over the last year Amazon has decided to go in another direction with the character I was portraying…
I must thank the creative team for their encouragement towards trying something that I believed was new, exciting and beautiful.
And I sincerely thank the extraordinary cast and crew for their love, support and friendship over what has been a very difficult and unusual experience. Alas, some things just cannot be.
Destiny my mother, I thank thee.”
It has never been revealed what character Tom Budge was portraying in the series. Whether his character is recast or cut completely remains unclear. All we know is that this is not stopping Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series from generating constant hype. The Lord of the Rings is often thought to be Amazon’s Game of Thrones. Amazon bought the television rights to the franchise for $250 million in 2017, making a five-season commitment worth at least $1 billion. This makes LOTR the most expensive TV show ever made. Suffice to say, Amazon has a lot of faith in this series.
Amazon is further dipping its toes into the fantasy epic genre with The Wheel of Time. This series, based on Robert Jordan’s popular fantasy books, also promises to deliver the binge-worthy addictions of Game of Thrones. Alongside The Lord of the Rings, it promises to be a killer app for Amazon’s streaming service. Its release date remains unclear.
The same applies to LOTR. The show is slated for a 2021 release, although an exact date is unknown. Regardless, it houses a lot of potential for Amazon. Are you hyped for The Lord of the Rings? Let us know in the comments below!
