Not including guilt written white liberals is there anyone really clamoring for a diverse Lord of the Rings. I mean if you are a fan of the books or movies wouldn’t you want the world of Middle Earth portrayed accurately to what Tolkien created.
shareI'm definitely on the progressive side of things, but I agree that this series ought to respect the vision of the author. I welcome more diversity in movies & TV—if it's natural & organic to the story material, not just forced in. For instance, a Conan series should have a diverse cast, due to the very nature of the Hyborian Age, which features many races & cultures as part of its world. But Middle-Earth was quite specifically created by Tolkien to be a mythology for the England that had shaped him. So any series about Middle-Earth should reflect that, not because of politics or culture wars, but simply to be faithful to the writer & his work.
shareFor instance, a Conan series should have a diverse cast, due to the very nature of the Hyborian Age
Since this is not an adaptation of Tolkien's works, but only uses the universe, who knows where in Middle Earth it will take place. Tolkien included numerous races of men, including the Haradrim and Easterlings. Easterlings are described as "swarthy", whereas Haradrim were tall and black - and Hobbits called these "swertings". Being Norwegian, this sounds too similar to "svarting" to be a coincidence. In Tolkien's time, "svarting" was a common Norwegian term for black people - the only word many people, especially in the country, knew for them. Today it is definitely a perjorative, and could be used as such back then as well. The S-word, if you will. "Svart" means "black", and by adding the "-ing" suffix you denote a person who is black. An English equivalent would be "blackie" or "darkie".
There are other dark skinned races in Tolkien's universe as well, but common to them all seems to be that they were all corrupted by Sauron, as most of the men east of the Blue Mountains and Misty Mountains were. The ones among these that were not seduced by Sauron, were white. That's Tolkien for you. Now, I do not believe that Tolkien consciously wrote whites as good, noble and strong, and darks as evil and easily corruptible. Tolkien was a child of his time, and wrote from a rather navel-gazing perspective: what he knew and loved were Northern European culture and history, and he had very romantic notions thereof. I do not know to what extent his knowledge encompassed African or Asian cultures, but they were just as fringe in his works as they were to his life. Thus it would have been very easy for him to view them as inferior, even if only subconsciously. If one has not been exposed to different cultures equally, it is difficult to regard them as equal in one's heart of hearts.
In short, it is not a problem to make a diverse series based on the Tolkien universe. However, to do so while being faithful to Tolkien's vision, would probably not place Western minorities in a very favourable light.
Of course, "diversity" can also mean sexual and gender diversity. And there simply is no room for that in the LotR universe. Sexuality simply isn't dealt with at all, and to draw attention to it by making someone overtly sexual would be very contrary to Tolkien's vision. Marriages in this universe are mentioned, but there's nothing exciting going on behind closed doors. The closest thing we get is Aragorn and Eowyn, but even here their love is noble rather than sexual. Tolkien was Catholic, after all. In like wise, there is no room for more than two genders in this universe. It would only be distracting, and ruinous to immersion. Diversity for diversity's sake always has this effect, because it is awfully transparent.