Set in two mystical worlds and with epic wars between fighting clans, Under the spell of the Ring and Game of Thrones Universes have long been compared to each other.
The competition between the two eager fanbases has only been fueled by the upcoming prequels The rings of powerinspired by the extended notes of JRR Tolkein, and House of the Dragon.
The highly anticipated series comes just 10 days apart, with George RR Martin’s adaptation hitting our screens first on August 22.
Rumors of a rivalry have not escaped The Rings of Power showrunner Patrick McKay, nor his counterpart JD Payne, as the claim was addressed in a recent interview.
Patrick appeared on Friday during the Television Critics Association’s press tour in LA and was more than happy to address the perceived competitiveness between the two franchises.
“I’ll take a stab at that,” Patrick said when asked about inevitable comparisons and “rivalry” with House of the Dragon according to The HOllywood reporter. “We’ve talked a lot about it. It comes up and we totally understand where the demand is coming from.
“We don’t think of the show in terms of what genre or other shows there are. We are thinking of [Tolkien]his life’s work was to create this world.
“This is Tolkien’s Middle-earth and regions beyond Middle-earth and we just wanted to be true to that and kind of drown it out and forget about what might happen elsewhere in another realm.”
Actor Robert Aramayo has the unique experience of being involved in both worlds. He played the younger version of Ned Stark in Game of Thrones before joining The Rings of Power as the young Elrond, originally played by Hugo Weaving in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
But the 29-year-old said: ‘I don’t feel any rivalry… the materials are so different.
‘I like fantasy. So now of course we get to see more fantasy, which can never be a bad thing.’
Set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon puts House Targaryen in the spotlight when it reigned in the Seven Kingdoms and had several powerful dragons in its arsenal.
Meanwhile, The Rings of Power takes place thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit and the original series of The Lord of the Rings Storiesduring the Second Age of Middle-earth, before the Fellowship and even before the rings of power were ever created.
House of the Dragon will premiere on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW on August 22, while The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power comes to Prime Video on September 2.
Do you have a story?
If you have any celebrity story, video or photos, please contact the metro.co.uk animation team by emailing [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or visiting our Submit things page – we’d love to hear from you.
