British actor Maxim Baldry, best known for his roles as Viktor on the BBC-HBO series Years and Years and Stepan in Mr. Bean’s Holiday, is set to play the lead in Amazon Studios’ new The Lord of the Rings TV series. He is also known for his roles in Doctor Who and Hollyoaks, but this will his first lead role in an Amazon series. Baldry was not included in the original cast announcement in January of this year, but Co-Head of Television at Amazon, Vernon Sanders, has acknowledged that the show’s executives “still have a few key roles to cast” (as Deadline Hollywood also confirms).

The show is to be set in Middle-earth, following the themes of the J.R.R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings series and exploring the events leading up to The Fellowship of the Ring. As The Hollywood Reporter confirms, recreating Middle Earth and obtaining the rights to The Lord of the Rings has cost Amazon upwards of $1 billion. Other disclosed cast members of the new series include Game of Thrones actor Robert Aramayo, Nazanin Boniadi (best known for How I Met Your Mother and Ben-Hur), and Welsh actress Morfydd Clark. Fifteen total castmembers, along with Maxim Baldry, have been confirmed so far. That said, it isn’t clear which characters the leads will be playing just yet. 

Filmmakers and executive producers J.A. Bayona, J.D. Payne, and Patrick McKay are heading up the series. But, they are also joined by producers Lindsey Weber, known for her work on 10 Cloverfield Lane, Bruce Richmond of Game of Thrones, and numerous other talented producers and directors. 

The show has a lot of hype to live up to, as does Maxim Baldry. But, if Amazon Studios has proven anything with The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Sneaky Pete, J.R.R. Tolkien fans have nothing to worry about.