CNet:
There are four ages in Tolkien's works. Lord of the Rings was set in the Third Age, and this series will take place in The Second Age, Amazon revealed in a tweet sent in March 2019. The famous One Ring of Lord of the Rings fame was forged in this time period by the Dark Lord Sauron, who seems likely to be a major part of the new show.
Welcome to the Second Age: — The Lord of the Rings on Prime (@LOTRonPrime)
Amazon's Salke told Deadline, "we're not remaking the movies, but we're also not starting from scratch. So, it'll be characters you love."
But probably not one particular character. Tolkien fan site stirred buzz among fans in May 2018 by that the show's first season would be centered on a young Aragorn. Portrayed by Viggo Mortensen in the Peter Jackson movies, he was an acclaimed warrior and ranger who plays a major role in Lord of the Rings. But that rumor fell flat once Amazon confirmed the Second Age setting, since Aragorn wouldn't have been around then.
It is not yet clear if they're focusing on Numenor in the Second Age, or the Last Alliance of Elves and Men.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 19 2020, @12:25PM
JRR was much criticized for the simplistic good/evil portrayal - he apparently didn't care about how/why the good is/became good and the evil evil. The whole middle earth stories are just an extended adolescent fairy tale. Don't expect anything deep/reflective.
I suppose tv/movie adaptations can go in that direction, but it would stray far from JRR's writing.