The months until The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power comes to Amazon Prime Video are counting down, and a new teaser trailer gives the most in-depth look yet at what's on the way to Middle-earth. The series is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings novel trilogy, but familiar characters like Galadriel and Elrond will have parts to play as the darkness begins to grow. The trailer is action-packed and cinematic, so check it out above!
The new teaser trailer uses just over two minutes to check in on the Elves, Dwarves, Men, and Hobbit-like Harfoots in the Second Age of Middle-earth, although the Elves get the most focus. The Prime series will showcase a different side of Galadriel (played by Morfydd Clark) than fans saw in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings film trilogy, as she is a warrior in action in the new footage.
Elrond (played by Robert Aramayo) suggests that it’s time for Galadriel to put up her sword, but the things that she has “seen” mean that she’s not ready to give up the fight. It seems safe to say that he’d been singing a different tune if he’d seen the vision of death, destruction, and fire that Galadriel has seen (and will be present for). Elf High King Gil-galad agrees that darkness is coming, and the rest of the footage indicates that Elrond wasn’t exactly right about the fight being over.
With the show not premiering until September and Amazon keeping a pretty tight lid on spoilers, we can only speculate about certain elements that are introduced in the teaser trailer. It looks like the series will spend some time in the mines of Moria when it was still a glorious Dwarf city. Prince Durin IV (played by Owain Arthur) suggests that “this could be the beginning of a new era,” while holding something that looks suspiciously like a ring.
The shot immediately following shows what appears to be Men in armor; although the shot is too quick to be able to count, it certainly looks like there could be nine of them. Are these the great kings of Men who are tricked by Sauron’s rings and eventually became the Nazgul?
The Rings of Power isn’t exactly a prequel to the Peter Jackson films (which are available streaming with an HBO Max subscription), and clearly is taking some liberties with Tolkien's source material, but fans can probably be confident that one particular piece of lore will remain true with the new show: three rings for the Elves, seven rings for the Dwarves, nine rings for Men, and of course the One Ring of Sauron.
The show is clearly going to cover the Second Age by featuring characters from all the major groups. It’s not clear just how quickly the show will advance through the storylines of the rings, but The Rings of Power was already renewed for Season 2 all the way back in 2019, and Maxim Baldry was cast as the young Isildur.
Fortunately, the wait for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power to debut isn’t too much longer, as Amazon Prime subscribers will be able to watch the first episode starting on Friday, September 2. While waiting for The Rings of Power to debut on Prime, be sure to take a look at our 2022 TV premiere schedule for some more upcoming viewing options.
