Actor who played King Theoden in the ‘Lord of the Rings’ says new TV series is a ‘money-making venture’

Lord of the Rings actor Bernard Hill has hit out at the spin-off series “The Rings of Power” as a “money-making venture,” and said that he doesn’t plan on watching it.

Hill portrayed the character of King Théoden in the original trilogy and has said he had a “wonderful time” filming the LOTR movies.

Asked whether he has watched Prime Video’s prequel series, which is set thousands of years earlier than the original films, Hill responded by saying “No, not interested.”

“It’s a money-making venture and I’m not interested in watching that or being in it. Good luck to them and all that stuff but it’s not like the real thing,” Hill said.

Hill added that he believes the LOTR franchise would have been better if it were left as just the original trilogy.

“I think they were pushing it when they made The Hobbit. The Hobbit’s a tiny book,” Hill said. “They did it well – they did it really, really well. They expanded it. I think you can only stretch a piece of elastic so far. I think they managed it in The Hobbit because there were some really good things in The Hobbit without a doubt.”

The Rings of Power recently made its way onto Prime Video and attracted more than 25 million global viewers on its first day, breaking previous records.