This fall, Prime Video‘s new original series, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, has a lot to live up to. Director Peter Jackson’s adaptation of The Lord of the Rings trilogy is still considered to be the pinnacle of fantasy films two decades after their release. It would be a challenge for anyone to match the grandeur and scale of those movies.
However, the new trailer for The Rings of Power definitely swings for the fences. And unlike the films, viewers are getting a glimpse of what life in Middle-earth was like before Sauron’s darkness infected the world.
The Rings of Power takes place during the Second Age of J. R. R. Tolkien’s history of Middle-earth. That means events on the show happened thousands of years before the films. Only the seemingly immortal elves lived through the intervening years, including Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), who is much younger here than we’ve seen her before. Although other elves encourage Galadriel to put down her sword and live a life of peace, she senses the return of the enemy. And she has also had an unsettling vision of the future.
It just wouldn’t be Middle-earth without the Hobbits, or at least someone Hobbit-adjacent. This particular teaser pays more attention to the Harfoots, a Hobbit-like race who have a simple existence compared to elves, dwarves, and men. Regardless, a few Harfoots will inevitably be drawn into the battle for Middle-earth, whether they want to help or not.
This series features an incredibly massive cast including Robert Aramayo as Elrond, Owain Arthur as Durin IV, Nazanin Boniadi as Bronwyn, Maxim Baldry as Isildur, Ismael Cruz Córdova as Arondir, Charles Edwards as Celebrimbor, Markella Kavenagh as Elanor “Nori” Brandyfoot, Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Míriel, and Lloyd Owen as Elendil. Tolkien fans may recognize some of those character names. If not, just know that there is tragedy and triumph ahead.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power was developed by J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay. The series will premiere on Prime Video on September 2.
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