Lord of the Rings fans have slammed Amazon’s big-budget prequel series, saying the inclusion of non-white actors in The Rings of Power is contrary to JRR Tolkien’s original story.
Following the release of the first two episodes on Friday evening (Australian time), fans expressed their displeasure on social media, and the series has been hit with ‘review bombing’ on Amazon Prime – the streaming giant since delaying user reviews on the series by 72 hours.
The online outrage was not at all surprising, said Lauren Rosewarne, associate professor in the School of Social and Political Sciences at the University of Melbourne.
‘‘It follows pretty much the same pattern that we’ve seen when any other casting decisions deviate from what has been the norm in the past,’’ Dr Rosewarne told The New Daily.
Diversity
The Rings of Power debuted on Amazon Prime on Friday night to a record audience of 25 million viewers.
Middle-earth has been the exclusive territory of Caucasians, as seen in Peter Jackson’s award-winning Lord of the Rings film trilogy, but the creators of Rings of Power made a deliberate shift when it came to the series’ diversity.
A number of characters are played by non-white actors, including wood-elf Arondir (Ismael Cruz Cordova), Queen Regent Miriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) and Princess Disa (Sophia Nomvete).
‘Unwatchable’
Some diehard fans of the books and movie trilogy said the show should have stuck with the source material, claiming the diverse casting rendered the show ‘‘unwatchable’’.
‘‘I watch fantasy shows to get away from the real world so seeing Black people in Rings of Power really breaks my immersion,’’ one wrote.
‘‘Rings of Power is unwatchable,’’ said another.
Louis Markos, author of From A to Z to Middle-Earth with JRR Tolkien, told CNN casting Black and Brown actors in The Rings of Power threatens story believability. He said Tolkien described elves, for example, as “fair-faced’’.
‘‘It generally happens when people deviate from the source material,’’ she said.
‘‘People who are overly invested in the book feel a protectiveness … and therefore feel an urgency to protect the casting.’’
But modern series adaptations of texts written decades ago, like the Lord Of The Rings series, often had to ‘‘shake things up’’ in order to present each story to modern, diverse audiences.
Plus, it’s another way of setting reboots and adaptions apart from each other.
In defence of casting
Morfydd Clark, who plays Galadriel in the series, addressed the criticism over the weekend.
“[Tolkien] was a really complex person who wrote a really complex world, and this idea that anyone could know exactly what he would’ve wanted or what he would’ve liked is, I feel, nonsense,” she said.
Fans joined Clark in rubbishing the critics, many saying they relished the representation offered by the prequel series.
‘‘As a black nerd who grew up in the late ’90s and early 2000s with stories like Game of Thrones, a Wheel of Time and Lord the rings [sic], it’s just a blessing to see Black people in high fantasy that I enjoy,’’ one fan wrote.
‘‘My heart smiles every time.’’
‘‘If you’re mad about black dwarves and elves you really need to grow up,” another said.
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Not the first time
The Rings of Power is the latest in a long string of reboots, prequels and adaptions to be targeted by fans.
Fans of George RR Martin’s Game Of Thrones expressed their displeasure at the casting in House of the Dragon in recent months, with Black actor Steve Toussaint taking on a role in the prequel series.
Fire & Blood, the book on which the series is based, says Toussaint’s character, Lord Corlys Velaryon, has ‘‘Targaryen white-blonde’’ hair, but never specifies the colour of his skin.
Toussaint revealed he received racist messages from fans even before the series premiered, and said it appeared his casting was ‘‘very hard for people to swallow’’.
He told Men’s Health that the idea of a Black man in a fantasy series appeared to be ‘‘beyond the pale’’ for viewers.
“They are happy with a dragon flying, they’re happy with white hair and violet-coloured eyes, but a rich Black guy? That’s beyond the pale,’’ Toussaint said.
British actor Steve Toussaint plays Lord Corlys Velaryon in Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon. Photo: Warner Media
Fans of comic series The Sandman also reacted adversely to the casting of Black British actress Kirby Howell-Baptiste as the character of Death.
With Death depicted as Caucasian in the original comics, some fans said they weren’t happy with Howell-Baptiste’s casting.
‘‘Death is black? Really? She was one of the most iconic characters. She was like a tiny Siouxie with a very white face and very black clothes and postpunk hair,’’ one user wrote, alongside a miserable-looking emoji.
The original comic series’ author, Neil Gaiman, intervened in defence of Howell-Baptiste.
‘‘If you think the Endless have any specific human race or form, you’ve missed something in Sandman. Don’t worry. Watch the show’’ he tweeted in response.
Another wrote: ‘‘You made Death the way she looked in every story with the great personality to match. I’ll gibe the actress a shot, but this casting smacks of checking of a box.’’
‘‘The ability to give us the great personality was important. The skin colour of the actresses auditioning for the role was not,’’ Gaiman retorted.
‘Stunt casting’
As well as to ensure representation, Dr Rosewarne said such casting choices are sometimes made by studios as a way to drum up attention, referring to the marketing tactic as ‘‘stunt casting’’.
“It’s also a way to get us talking about it. Perhaps we wouldn’t be having a conversation about Lord of the Rings today [if not for the casting]. It creates a storm of controversy and discussion,’’ she said.
‘‘It’s OK for both to exist in this universe.’’
Episode three of The Rings of Power premieres on Amazon Prime on Friday.
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