Jeff Bezos wants Amazon's new 'Lord of the Rings' series to do more than just make boatloads of money: 'I hope we do Tolkien's work justice'

• "The Lord of the Rings" prequel will be aired on Sept. 2, according to Jeff Bezos.

• It's likely to bring in a lot of viewers and subscribers.

• Bezos told Time that his heart is in it and that he hopes the work is done justice.

Jeff Bezos chimed in on the $1 billion production of Amazon's return to Middle-earth.

In an in-depth feature Monday, Time magazine detailed the company's goliath "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power," a prequel TV series set 3000 years before the popular J.R.R.

The series is likely to be a huge subscription driver as viewers hand over money to watch the beloved spinoff. Fans are concerned that the series is just a cash cow for Amazon.

Bezos told Time that the project is more than just economic benefits for the company.

It's a privilege and a responsibility to tell the story of the Rings of Power. He told the magazine in an email that he hoped the work would be done justice. Making a successful show is not the only thing that goes beyond that. As kids and our hearts are in it, everyone on the show reads these stories.

Variety reported in late 2017, that Bezos was involved in Amazon's negotiations to develop a spinoff of "The Lord of the Rings." "The Expanse," a belovedSyFy channel show that was in danger of being shut down in 2018, is now on Prime Video.

Amazon's prized stallion in the crowded streaming race is Prime Video, which is followed by heavy hitters like Netflix, Disney+, and HBO Max.

A key strategy is to offer huge tentpole programs to entice new subscribers or keep existing ones.

"Bridgerton" and "Stranger Things" are just two examples of the things that have been on the streaming service. "Loki" was a superhero movie for Disney+.

"The Girls" and "The Boys" are shows that viewers have devoured. The "Lord of the Rings" prequel will be a selling point.

For the first time in over a decade, subscriber growth for the streamer fell in the first quarter. The creators of "Stranger Things" have a spinoff in the works that is part of a larger plan to take the platform's most successful programs and expand upon them.

Amazon announced a new interface for Prime Video in July that looked a lot like the one used by Netflix.

Prime Video will show "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" in September.

Business Insider has an article on it.