Generations of book and film enthusiasts have grown up with J.R.R. Tolkien’s tales of Middle Earth, including both The Hobbit and the wildly popular Lord of the Rings series. That world is being further expanded in live-action thanks to Amazon’s new TV series The Rings of Power, which has plenty of connections to LOTR. Tolkein wrote very little about the character of Elendil, and now Rings of Power actor Lloyd Owen has spoken about the “responsibility” of bringing him to the screen.
The character Elendil is referenced a number of times throughout the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but The Rings of Power marks his actual debut. His inclusion piqued the interest of fans, as it was his sword Narsil that famously cut the ring from Sauron’s finger. And eventually that sword is reforged and used by none other than Aragon himself. Actor Lloyd Owen recently spoke to EW about his recent debut in the burgeoning series, addressing the pressure of his role by saying:
But Tolkien wrote very little about him. There are just a few signposts along the way to his death. It’s a great opportunity to open him up as a fully three-dimensional human being, and I think JD [Payne] and Patrick [McKay], our showrunners, have done a great job so far setting this man up. They’ve added that he’s recently widowed, that he’s trying to bring up some grieving adult children who are also struggling, and that he’s recently moved into the capital city of Númenor right at the point where civil society might be breaking down, potentially. The personal and the political are perfectly combined in him. That’s the great excitement of it, as well as the responsibility, obviously, of hopefully fulfilling people’s expectations and imaginations.
This makes a great deal of sense. It’s no doubt strange that Lloyd Owens is creating a new Lord of the Rings character in The Rings of Power, while also portraying a name that has carried so much weight over the decades. We’ll just have to wait and see what Elendil brings to the table throughout Season 1, and how important his sword Narsil ends up being to the action of the live-action series. After all, that weapon has quite the legacy in Tolkien’s mythology. Luckily all it takes is an Amazon Prime Video subscription to catch all the action.
Lloyd Owens’ comments came after his debut in the third episode of The Rings of Power (which received some mixed reviews). That’s obviously just the tip of the iceberg for the character, but his cunning and fluency in elvish has already made for some exciting moments. And on top of embracing what Elendil means to the overall franchise, Owens is also focusing on the character itself. This includes his family dynamic and duty to the island kingdom of Númenor. Although perhaps fans are most interested in his sword, which is famously wielded by Aragorn in Return of the King and will also be used by Elendil’s son Isildur against Sauron himself.
This sense of responsibility is no doubt by some of Lloyd Owens’ The Rings of Power co-stars. Case in point: actress Morfydd Clark who is playing Galadriel– the role famously played by Cate Blanchett in the movies. And Lord of the Rings fans are clearly passionate about the property; unfortunately that sometimes comes out via racist backlash against the actors of color in the Amazon series.
The Rings of Power airs new episodes Fridays on Amazon Prime. In the meantime, check out the midseason premiere list to plan your next binge watch.
