The moral inspiration of Tolkien’s universe

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the new Tolkien-inspired TV series on Amazon Prime is already the most expensive television series in history.

Amazon paid $250 million up-front for the rights, and has reportedly committed a billion dollars to future production. The fact a business as canny as Amazon would commit that much money to develop the appendices of a novel — which is what The Rings is based on — shows just how much cultural heft Tolkien’s works continue to have.