HBO’s Upcoming Fantasy Series Avoids The Mistake That Killed The Rings Of Power

by

Fantasy TV has become a crowded space, particularly when it comes to adapting popular books like Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. After the huge success of HBO’s Game of Thrones, many similar shows were made, with an expectation that they’d all be equally popular. But most haven’t lived up to expectations, and even decent shows have struggled to find an audience.

The TV show Rings of Power illustrates this point well. It wasn’t necessarily a bad show, but its extremely high production cost meant it needed a large audience to be successful. Before season one even premiered, Prime Video heavily emphasized the show’s massive budget, hoping the spectacle alone would attract viewers. However, the series quickly faced considerable criticism.

The new series Rings of Power has faced a lot of criticism, initially focused on how it looked and who played the characters. Some people were upset by changes to the original story by J.R.R. Tolkien, and others specifically objected to the casting of actors of color, claiming it didn’t fit with their idea of Middle-earth. Similar complaints are now surfacing about the upcoming Harry Potter series. However, these issues are unlikely to affect Rings of Power as much.

Rings Of Power’s Changes Were Damning Because Of Its Limited Audience

A prequel to The Lord of the Rings focusing on lesser-known stories from Tolkien’s world would likely only attract a dedicated fanbase. This includes people very familiar with the books and those who greatly enjoyed Peter Jackson’s movies and want to see more. These viewers are generally adults, and they might be critical of changes made in The Rings of Power.

Tolkien’s original characters were all written as white, but the criticism directed at Black actors in the Lord of the Rings adaptation seems to be coming mostly from adults. Children likely wouldn’t even notice or be concerned. While the number of adult viewers upset by this casting choice is relatively small, it still negatively impacted Rings of Power, especially since the show already had a limited audience.

Visual Changes To HBO’s Harry Potter TV Show Simply Won’t Matter

HBO is planning a new Harry Potter series that they say will closely follow the books and be a major streaming event. According to JB Perrette, the head of HBO’s streaming service, a TV series allows them to explore the story in much greater detail. While many are excited, some fans are concerned that the casting choices don’t match the characters as described in the books, potentially undermining the promise of a faithful adaptation.

Paapa Essiedu, a Black actor, will be taking on the role of Severus Snape, a character traditionally depicted as pale in the Harry Potter books and famously played by Alan Rickman. This represents a noticeable change in appearance from previous portrayals. However, this Harry Potter TV series, unlike Rings of Power, is expected to reach a very large audience, including millions of children and teenagers.

A whole new generation will experience the world of Harry Potter through HBO’s TV series, and for many, it will become their definitive visual interpretation of the books. They won’t question any differences in how characters look or how the magical world is depicted. While some older fans might focus on changes, like the portrayal of Snape, that concern will be far outweighed by the huge audience simply enjoying the story. Unlike The Rings of Power, the Harry Potter series won’t face significant backlash over visual choices.

Read More

2026-02-13 19:08