“House of the Dragon” starts with a bang, while waiting for “The Rings of Power”

< p>Already on the horizon is a strong competitor for “House of the Dragon”, with the upcoming release of the first episodes of the “Rings of Power” series, derived from the “Lord of the Rings” universe, fantastic literary saga created by J.R.R Tolkien.

Amazon Prime Video had acquired the rights to adapt the universe of hobbits and elves about five years before for 250 million dollars. 

The project, which should span five seasons with a budget of more than a billion dollars, has already been called the most expensive series in history. 

Each season should last approximately ten hours, and the first two episodes will be broadcast at from September 2.

“Great fantasy”

Both creators and producers of “House of the Dragon” and “Rings of Power” have been careful not to speak of rivalry.

While the new HBO series has received generally good reviews, those concerning the series from Amazon remain under embargo.

And the new media landscape actually makes any comparison of viewership more difficult than in the past: while HBO has welcomed good early viewership figures, Amazon will have no obligation to publish its own.

Indeed, some protagonists in the more “traditional” Hollywood universe have noted that Prime Video, which produces both films and series, does not seem interested in the same figures as its apparent rivals.

John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theater Owners, told AFP earlier this year that the US organization was “very concerned” about Amazon, noting that the group was not seeking to “make a profit” from its films and series, but rather wanted its customers to “shop and use the e-commerce giant's delivery services”.

Fantasy fans have their side expressed their wish that both series will be a success.

Even George R.R. Martin, the author of the literary saga “Game of Thrones”, recently said in a blog post that he hopes the two series represent of “great television” and “great fantasy”, thus making more likely that the genre will be even more present in popular culture.