Middle-earth has a rather extensive history, with its earliest stories taking it all the way back to The First Age, an era set thousands of years before The Hobbit and the main Lord of the Rings trilogy. While a handful of books and notes have been written about The First Age, and The Rings of Power show is set during the Second Age, the bulk of Middle-earth's stories land in The Third Age, and that includes the upcoming Tales of the Shire, based on Gandalf's presence in the game.