It would not be exaggerating to suggest that Prime Video’s upcoming The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series is the most ambitious television series ever attempted. With the sort of budget that most big-screen blockbusters would trade eternal servitude to the Dark Lord of Mordor for, and access to the most detailed and beloved fantasy world ever created, when Amazon launches its first season of The Rings of Power later this year records won’t just be broken, they will be shattered like the shards of Narsil beneath Sauron’s foot.
Whisking audiences back to J.R.R. Tolkien’s expansive and magical Middle-earth, at a time long before Frodo and the fellowship ever set foot out of The Shire, The Rings of Power will explore a forgotten age that was only roughly outlined by even Tolkien himself. It was nearly two years ago that Amazon first treated eager fans to a very different map of Middle-earth, one which teased the lost island kingdom of Númenor and the period known as the Second Age.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them, In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. #LOTRonPrime pic.twitter.com/7TuQh7gRPD
— The Lord of the Rings on Prime (@LOTRonPrime) March 7, 2019
Now this past weekend, fans got their first good look at what to expect from what is probably the most anticipated television event of all time. Last Friday, Vanity Fair ran an article that introduced the show’s cast of characters, an intriguing mix of some familiar names, as well as some brand new additions to Tolkien’s lore. Then, to top it all off, Prime Video stepped in to run the first teaser trailer during this year’s Super Bowl in the US.
While that first teaser would only clock in at 60 seconds, most would probably agree it was a totally glorious 60 seconds which promises nothing but great things ahead. Of course, we still have seven more months until we can watch the show for ourselves, so why don’t we spend a little time catching our breath and taking a deeper look at what we have all learned so far?
Some Familiar Names
Morfydd Clark as Galadriel
While the events of The Rings of Power will take place thousands of years before those shown in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, there are a few names fans will instantly recognise. While the series will inevitably chart Sauron’s rise to power and the forging of the Great Rings, there are a few more characters that fans of the Peter Jackson films will already know.
The elven queen Galadriel, played by Cate Blanchett in both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, is seemingly set to feature as a major role in the upcoming series. Played by Welsh actress Morfydd Clark (Pride, Prejudice and Zombies, Dracula), the Galadriel audiences will meet in this series will not only be much younger but also far more adventurous. Seen climbing a precarious mountain in the trailer, Galadriel we will meet is a commander of the Northern Armies who is well accustomed to facing the armies of Middle-earth’s first fallen Dark Lord, Morgoth.
Meanwhile another familiar name, that of Rivendell’s half-elf Elrond (previously played by Hugo Weaving) is also set to appear, this time portrayed by Robert Aramayo. However, this won’t be the first time Aramayo is set to star in a fantasy series, with quick-eyed fans likely to recognise him as the younger version of Sean Bean’s Ned Stark on Game of Thrones.
Brand New Faces
Of course, showrunners Patrick McKay and JD Payne have a bit of wiggle room to introduce a slate of brand new characters into the already established Tolkien lore, with large portions of the history of the Second Age having previously been unwritten. Assuming the enormous challenge of “com[ing] up with the novel Tolkien never wrote”, the duo has concocted a rich cast of original characters hailing from every corner of Middle-earth.
Ismael Cruz Cordova as Arondir
These include the silvan elf Arondir (played by Ismael Cruz Cordova) and the dwarven princess Disa (played by Sophia Nomvete). There is also a human healer named Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi) who is engaged in a forbidden love affair with Arondir, and Charlie Vickers’s Halbrand who is seen adrift on a raft in the teaser, presumably fleeing from the sinking of Númenor.
And while the peaceful, rolling hills of The Shire are still yet to be settled by Hobbits in this timeline, the series will feature Harfoots, the early nomadic ancestors of Frodo and his friends. It is the Harfoot character played by Markella Kavenagh that speaks at the start of new the trailer.
The Majesty of Middle-earth
One thing that fans of both the books and of Peter Jackson’s films will know, is that perhaps the most important character in any Lord of the Rings series is the sprawling and majestic landscape of Middle-earth itself. From the dwarven kingdom of Khazad-Dûm (which was only seen in ruins in The Lord of the Rings when the fellowship travelled through the mines of Moria), to the famed citadel of Númenor visible in the trailer’s opening, this series will provide fans with a glimpse of key Middle-earth locales at the very height of their glory.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will premiere exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries on Friday, 2 September, with new episodes available weekly.
