The actor Tom Budge is out of a job after he parted ways Amazon’s upcoming Lord Of The Rings series.
The 38-year-old Australian star announced Sunday on his Instagram accounted that he had departed the prequel show amid creative differences with the streamer.
He was originally announced to be playing an undisclosed part on the fantasy series back in January 2020, but it sounds as if the character will now be recast.
Parting ways: Australian actor Tom Budge, 38, announced Sunday on Instagram that he had departed Amazon’s Lord Of The Rings prequel series over creative differences; seen in 2019
Budge made the announcement in an Instagram post featuring a black-and-white TV broadcast of Johnny Cash singing his classic song Ring Of Fire, which was co-written by his wife June Carter Cash.
‘Hello loves, It is with great sadness that I am writing to tell you I have departed Amazon’s Lord Of The Rings television series,’ Budge began his note.
‘After recently seeing the first episodes shot over the last year Amazon has decided to go in another direction with the character I was portraying…,’ he revealed.
The actor went on to thank the ‘creative team for their encouragement towards trying something that I believed was new, exciting and beautiful.’
‘It burns, burns, burns’: Budge made the announcement in an Instagram post featuring a black-and-white TV broadcast of Johnny Cash singing his classic song Ring Of Fire
‘Another direction’: He said that Amazon had decided to recast the role after seeing the first few episodes
Rising star: The Melbourne-born actor is best known for appearing in the HBO World War II miniseries The Pacific and the Australian miniseries Gallipoli; seen in 2010 in Hollywood
He also showed his gratitude for the ‘extraordinary cast and crew for their love, support and friendship over what has been a very difficult and unusual experience.’
‘Alas, some things just cannot be,’ he concluded, adding, ‘Destiny my mother, I thank thee.’
It’s not clear why he included the Cash performance, though the agonized lyrics might represent his current mindset.
He may have also been playing up the ‘ring’ connection, and New Zealand, where the Lord Of The Rings series is filming, is on the edge of the Pacific region known as the Ring of Fire, where earthquakes and volcanic activity are common.
Although Budge was attached to the series, his role was never announced, making it unclear if he was playing a major or minor character. He also didn’t take the opportunity to spill the beans in his announcement.
The Melbourne-born actor is best known for appearing in the HBO World War II miniseries The Pacific and the Australian miniseries version of Gallipoli, along with the 2019 film Judy & Punch.
Mystery role: Although Budge was attached to the series, his role was never announced, making it unclear if he was playing a major character; still from The Fellowship Of The Ring
Tight-lipped: He didn’t explain the Johnny Cash clip, aside from the obvious ‘ring’ meaning, and that New Zealand, where the show is shot, is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire; still from The Fellowship Of The Ring
Back in January, Amazon gave Lord Of The Rings fans a first look at the scope of its prequel series when it revealed the show’s epic official synopsis.
The new series will be set thousands of years before the events of the original trilogy from director Peter Jackson, as well as his Hobbit trilogy.
‘Amazon Studios’ forthcoming series brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth’s history,’ TheOneRing.net reported at the time.
New details: The synopsis for Amazon’s upcoming Lord Of The Rings series was revealed in January by TheOneRing.net. It is set thousands of years before the film series; still from The Fellowship Of The Ring
The Second Age refers to a period briefly seen in the prologue to The Fellowship Of The Ring (2001) in which the evil Sauron is moving to consolidate his power.
‘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,’ the synopsis read.
‘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.’
Old friends? The synopsis promises an ‘ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new,’ though the familiar faces haven’t yet been disclosed’ still from The Return Of The King
Going dark: The show will focus on ‘the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness,’ the Dark Lord Sauron; still from The Fellowship Of The Ring
Fans who were wowed by the stunning vistas of the original series, which was also filmed in New Zealand, may be wowed again by the streaming series’ epic scope.
‘From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone,’ the statement concluded.
The time period in the show charts the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, who follows in the footsteps of another evil lord, Morgoth.
The series is likely to be the most expensive ever made. Amazon is expected to pay more than $1 billion for the entire series, according to The Hollywood Reporter, and Reuters reported in 2018 that the first two seasons alone could cost up to $500 million
Astounding figures: Amazon is expected to spend $1 billion on the series, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Reuters reported it may spend $500 million on the first two seasons alone; still from The Two Towers
The Lord Of The Rings series was created and written by the relatively untested pair of J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay.
The two were previously reported by Rotten Tomatoes to have written a draft of the screenplay Dwayne Johnson’s upcoming Jungle Cruise movie for Disney, though their names won’t be included on the final product.
They have been attached to the upcoming monster flick Godzilla Vs. King Kong, and they’re set to write and produce an upcoming Flash Gordon series, but their only concrete credit to date has been as writers on Star Trek Beyond from 2016.
Fresh faces: The Lord Of The Rings series was created and written by the relatively untested pair of J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, who wrote Star Trek Beyond (2016)
The show will likely try to replicate the blockbuster success of HBO’s Game Of Thrones series, so it makes sense that that show’s writer Bryan Cogman will join the LOTR show as a consulting producer.
The Spanish filmmaker J. A. Bayona is also attached to direct multiple episodes.
He rose to fame on the success of his horror film The Orphanage, which he followed up with the Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor–starring disaster film The Impossible and the Jurassic World sequel Fallen Kingdom.
The forthcoming Lord Of The Rings series is currently filming in New Zealand and is expected to debut either late this year or sometime in 2022.
Directed by: The Spanish filmmaker J. A. Bayona, who helmed Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, will direct multiple episodes of the series; seen in 2007