Fans of Tolkien’s Middle-earth already know that the trailer of Season 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is dropping today. They are well aware that there was a panel today at Comic-Con in San Diego and that showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay appeared with several cast members to give the audience in “Hall H” a sneak peek at the upcoming season.
A quick ‘Rings of Power’ primer
For those new to the series, here are the basics:
- The Rings of Power is set in the same world as J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, but in an earlier time period known as The Second Age.
- It is based on part of the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, a story that Tolkien never got around to fleshing out. It dealt with how the nine “Rings of Power” were created and distributed to elves, dwarves, and men, and were then corrupted by Sauron who bore the “One Ring to rule them all.” With the approval of the Tolkien Estate, the show’s writers have created their own version of how these important events might have played out.
- The show isn’t directly related to Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films, but it is visually very similar and does seem to draw inspiration from Jackson’s adaptation. If you liked those films, you would probably enjoy the series.
- In the first season, we met younger versions of the elf Galadriel and half-elf Elrond. Galadriel is convinced that the evil Sauron is lurking somewhere in Middle-earth. This is not the “great lidless eye” Sauron you may be familiar with from the films. But to say anything more would spoil the story. Check out Season 1 if you want to know what happens.
- Writing about the first couple of episodes of Season 1 for Aleteia, David Ives wrote that the series was “off to a good start” and that “there appears to be some effort to maintain the spirit of Tolkien’s work and its underlying Catholicity.”
What’s coming in Season 2
As for Season 2, Prime Video has provided a description of what to expect. (Spoiler warning: If you haven’t seen Season 1 yet, you may want to skip this.)
In Season 2 of The Rings of Power, Sauron has returned. Cast out by Galadriel, without an army or ally, the rising Dark Lord must now rely on his own cunning to rebuild his strength and oversee the creation of the Rings of Power, which will allow him to bind all the peoples of Middle-earth to his sinister will. Building on Season One’s epic scope and ambition, the new season plunges even its most beloved and vulnerable characters into a rising tide of darkness, challenging each to find their place in a world that is increasingly on the brink of calamity. As friendships are strained and kingdoms begin to fracture, the forces of good — Elves and dwarves, orcs and men, wizards and Harfoots — will struggle ever more valiantly to hold on to what matters to them most of all: each other.
In addition to creatures like Sea Worms, Ents, and Barrow-wights, the new season of Rings of Power will also feature the live action debut of the mysterious Tom Bombadil, a fan favorite who was left out of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movie trilogy.
The trailer is here!
The new season of The Rings of Power will premiere on Prime Video on August 29. Aleteia will take a closer look at the show as the date approaches. In the meantime, you can be among the first to enjoy the new trailer!
And today we celebrate...