The trailer for The Lord of the Rings TV series has dropped and it looks utterly stunning

Our first proper look at the most expensive TV show ever made.

Fantasy fans are in for an incredible couple of weeks and months ahead. In August, we get our return to Game Of Thrones with House of the Dragon, and then just two weeks later, we get The Lord of the Rings prequel series, The Rings of Power. Amazon has reportedly spent $650 million on just this first series of the show alone, which once again based itself in New Zealand for the production of the shoot. Set in the Second Age of Arda (Tolkein's imaginary realm and equivalent of Earth), the story takes place thousands of years before the events of the original stories and boy does it look pretty. [caption id="attachment_348601" align="alignnone" width="1706"]

Credit: Amazon Prime Video - The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power[/caption] The official plot synopsis is as follows: "This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness.

"Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. "From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains and majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor and the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone."

The first episode of the eight-episode first season is titled "Shadow Of The Past", and is directed by J.A. Bayona (The Impossible, Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom), with new episodes released every week. We know you like to binge stuff but this is going to be one to savour. You can watch The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power trailer down below. The highly-anticipated show launches on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, 2 September.