Elijah Wood slams Lord of the Rings Amazon TV show as ‘misleading’- but admits he’d ‘absolutely’ return for Frodo cameo

LORD of the Rings star Elijah Wood has hit out at Amazon's new series based on the legendary books.

Wood, 39, starred at the lead character in the trilogy of films released in the early 2000s and went on to be box office smashes.

Based on the books by JRR Tolkien, the story follows Frodo Baggins on his journey to destroy the "one ring to rule them all" and save Middle Earth where the tale is set.

Streaming service Amazon has decided to jump on the bandwagon by releasing a series called Lord of the Rings.

Even though it takes from the Tolkien's canon, it is actually prequel series which Wood labelled "misleading".

“They’re calling it The Lord of the Rings, but I think that’s slightly misleading,” Wood told Indiewire.

“From what I understand, the material they are working on exists chronologically further back in history in the lore of Lord of the Rings or Middle Earth than any characters represented in Lord of the Rings.

“It sounds more Silmarillion era. Not to get nerdy, but it’s the Second Age of Middle Earth.”

Even though not much is known about the series, the actor is spot on with his understanding of the series.

Silmarillion was released after Tolkien's death and takes place in Middle Earth's Second Age - before the time of Frodo's journey.

The reason for the Amazon series is set in the Second Age is because of restrictions placed on the streaming giant by Tolkien's estate.

The estate does not allow for any new content to alter what happens during the trilogy, but by telling a story in a different age it can introduce new characters and explore the origin stories of established ones.

Tolkien scholar and consultant told The Guardian: “It must not contradict anything which Tolkien did say. That’s what Amazon has to watch out for.

"It must be canonical, it is impossible to change the boundaries which Tolkien has created. It is necessary to remain ‘Tolkienian’."

The series will run for five season series - another requirement of Tolkien's estate which required it as a minimum commitment - and cost Amazon a reportedly cool $250million (£192million) for the rights alone.

Wood said he was "super fascinated" about the series and did not rule out popping up as Frodo for a cameo.

“Look, any excuse to get to go to New Zealand to work on something, I am absolutely there," he said.

Another star who indicated he would be keen to appear in the series is Gandalf himself, Sir Ian McKellen.

He told Graham Norton  on his radio show in 2017: “I haven’t said yes because I haven’t been asked. But are you suggesting that someone else is going to play it?";

Before joking: "Gandalf is over 7,000 years old, so I’m not too old."

Production on the expensive series was put on hold in New Zealand after the coronavirus pandemic forced people into lockdown.