Lord of the Rings is coming to the small screen in the not-too-distant future, but the new trailer for the Rings of Power series is anything but small. The three-minute trailer (seen above) is packed with even more action and adventure than the footage that released just a little over a week ago. It reveals not only more about the new characters coming to the series, but some iconic villains that Lord of the Rings film fans will recognize. Check it out!
The early releases for the Amazon Prime Video series hinted at the evil on the way to Middle-earth, which seemed likely to be Sauron, but there was no saying just how far the first season would go into introducing him when Season 2 has already been guaranteed. Now, viewers don't have to wait for the show to premiere for that confirmation of Sauron in The Rings of Power. There are still plenty of questions about the growing threat, but at least that one big answer!
The trailer – released as part of the San Diego Comic-Con presentation for the upcoming series – doesn't just hint at Sauron either, but specifically name-drops him a little over a minute into the footage. It also appears that we see some glimpses of the Sauron armor, although in shadow. He's also not the only villain to appear in the trailer.
It's clear now that orcs will be a problem for Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and the others who will battle the forces of evil in The Rings of Power, which is another Lord of the Rings element that wasn't guaranteed in full force in just the first season. Plus, the trailer ends on one doozy of a teaser: a fiery Balrog roaring out of the darkness, presumably in the deep in Khazad-dúm (a.k.a. the stronghold later known as the Mines of Moria), which was already confirmed to appear.
There's more to recognize from the trailer beyond the iconic villains as well. Less than a minute in, Queen Regent Miriel (played by Cynthia Addai-Robinson) uncovers a palantir for Galadriel. One of those seeing stones of course played a key role in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, and it looks like Galadriel isn't going to see anything particularly reassuring by using it. "Evil does not sleep" indeed!
And there's still more! What looks like a Nazgúl blade appears to be taking shape about 90 seconds in, although that's speculation at this point. There are also five Men wielding swords, with possibly more around them, which may make them the wearers of the nine rings given to Men. Prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur) is holding a ring about two minutes in, which is presumably one of the seven given to the Dwarves.
All things considered, there's a lot to absorb, speculate about, and question after this trailer, but the one thing that is very safe to say is that the Elves will be proven very wrong about their "days of peace" beginning, and it probably won't take too long for Elrond (Robert Aramayo) to lose his smile. Viewers with an Amazon Prime subscription who are excited about the upcoming series do have reason to smile, however – the wait for The Rings of Power isn't too much longer.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premieres on Friday, September 2. Episodes will release weekly instead of the full season dropping at once, so fans won't be able to binge-watch right off the bat. There's just a little bit over a month left to wait, you can always check out an HBO Max subscription to revisit the three Lord of the Rings films.
