In this much awaited Amazon series, it’s still Middle-earth, but it’s a completely different universe.
For admirers of J.R.R. Tolkien, “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” transports them back to Middle-earth.
With a prequel series that takes place tens of thousands of years before the events of “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” books, Amazon Prime is helping to expand the “LOTR” universe.
The multi-season drama explores the Second Age, a time when Middle-earth was at peace just before one of the greatest evils takes over and causes devastation. It is based on the Tolkien “LOTR” appendices. The principal enemy of the program, the dark lord Sauron, has not yet been cast in his role as an actor.
Viewers will learn about the creation of the 20 magical rings of power in this story. There were three rings for elves, seven for dwarves, nine for men, and one to rule them all, according to mythology (sound familiar?).
“We believed the war had finally come to an end. We believed that our joys would never stop. In the most recent teaser unveiled at San Diego Comic-Con, a youthful Galadriel remarks, “We assumed our light would never dull, but evil does not slumber.”
The expensive and epic drama will feature well-known locations as well as breathtaking new ones, such the elf cities of Lindon and Eregion and the island realm of Nmenor (Variety says the first season cost $465 million). It also has a sizable ensemble cast, including a few well-known actors.
Meet the figures governing Middle-earth in “The Rings of Power” prior to the start of the series on September 2.
Ismael Cruz Córdova is Arondir
Arondir is an elf in the new “Lord of the Rings” series. Credit: Ben Rothstein/Prime Video
According to Vanity Fair, Córdova is the first person of color to play an elf onscreen in a Tolkien movie, while Arondir is a new character created for the series. In a nod to the illicit affair between human healer Bronwyn and elf Arwen (Liv Tyler) in the “Lord of the Rings” films, he is involved with her.
Nazanin Boniadi is Bronwyn
Ben Rothstein/Prime Video
“I portray a Southland person. I’m a healer, the mother of a teenager who can be a little rebellious, and I’m also having an unauthorized relationship with an elf,” Boniadi added, adding that Bronwyn “has an inner lioness.” So, expect to see stuff from her, such as the advice to “never judge a book by its cover.”
Tyroe Muhafidin is Theo
Ben Rothstein/Prime Video
Another fictional creation for “The Rings of Power” is Theo. There isn’t much information available on the son of Bronwyn yet, except from Boniadi’s description of him as “rebellious.”
Charles Edwards is Celebrimbor
Credit: Ben Rothstein/Prime Video
Sophia Nomvete is Princess Disa and Owain Arthur is Prince Durin IV
Credit: Matt Grace/Prime Video
The Misty Mountains’ underground realm of Khazad-dûm is ruled by Durin, who is its prince. The dwarves left the enormous city, also called Moria, in the Third Age. The previous realm is now home to the monster known as a balrog by the time of the “Lord of the Rings” films.
Leon Wadham as Kemen, Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Queen Regent Míriel, Trystan Gravelle as Pharazôn, Lloyd Owen as Elendil, Ema Horvath as Eärien and Maxim Baldry as Isildur
Leon Wadham (Kemen), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Queen Regent Míriel), Trystan Gravelle (Pharazôn), Lloyd Owen (Elendil), Ema Horvath (Eärien), Maxim Baldry (Isildur) Amazon Prime
Meet the people who call the island of Nmenor home. Spoiler alert: The series will show the island’s destruction.
Kemen is a native Nmenórean and the great Chancellor Pharazôn is his father. He is a brand-new character created for the show who will disagree with his father.
During a Comic-Con discussion, the actor discussed his role as saying, “I think with the kids of wealthy people, sometimes they’re determined to match or outdo their parents’ successes and sometimes they feel very content to coast.” And at this point, I believe he falls into the latter category. To his father’s dismay, he was born during a golden era, had everything he ever desired, and never had any cause to doubt that.
As the queen regent of Nmenor, the island nation renowned for being a refuge of culture and knowledge, Mriel is the queen regent and the daughter of King Tar-Palantir. According to ET, she is also the final legitimate heir of Nmenor.
As for Pharazôn, he is regarded as the final ruler of Nmenor. According to Gravelle during a Comic-Con panel, he “is advisor to the queen regent and head of the guilds.” Therefore, he must be a true servant of Nmenor, and his role is to liaise between the regency and the working class of Nmenor.
According to Gravelle, viewing the Nmenor set is like “passing through (Pharazôn’s) head.” You “travel through the mentality of a guy who is troubled by his own mortality and is very anxious about the legacy he’s going to leave behind” when you witness these epic statues and this beautiful stonework.
Peter McKenzie played the role of Elendil, who made a fleeting appearance in the “LOTR” movies. In the War of the Last Alliance, Sauron assassinates him as the High King of the Dnedain, another name for the men of Nmenor.
According to Owens, who plays Elendil, “those of us who know the story know Elendil ends up helping to lead the Last Alliance of elves and men” in the end. And how does he get there? The gift of this (show) is that Tolkien didn’t write the man in three dimensions.
In the books, Elendil is the father of Anárion and Isildur. Anárion is, however, replaced in the series by a daughter named Eärien.
EW describes the new character Eärien as “intelligent and ambitious” with aspirations of becoming an architect. Horvath remarked, “(She’s) on the verge of womanhood.” She still has a lot of insecurities and is naive about how the world operates.
Regarding Isildur, “LOTR” readers are familiar with the earlier iteration from “The Fellowship of the Ring,” the King of Gondor. He is initially shown as the one who snatches the ring from Sauron’s hand before succumbing to the one ring’s powerfully evil influence. Isildur will be depicted as a young boy in the series, following in the footsteps of his father Elendil as a young sailor.
Everyone knows him, thus he’s one of the characters most in need of development, according to co-showrunner JD Payne to Entertainment Weekly. “His last, catastrophic choice to keep the Ring when given the option to toss it into Mount Doom and annihilate Sauron for good, is what best defines him. How do we make that a tragic turn in an otherwise extremely human, sympathetic, and heroic arc? is sort of what we wondered.
Owen and Baldry teased their father-son relationship during a Comic-Con panel.
Baldry stated that the bond between a father and son is complicated, and Owen concurred, saying, “All I can say is, don’t always blame the parents.”
Robert Aramayo is Elrond
Credit: Ben Rothstein / Prime Video
Morfydd Clark is Galadriel
Credit: GaladrielBen Rothstein / Prime Video
Benjamin Walker is High King Gil-galad
Ben Rothstein/Prime Video
“Everyone knows Gil-galad from that song that Sam sings, but there isn’t a wealth of information about him in the text,” Walker told EW. “My favorite part is that he has this odd gift of foresight. He’s prescient, and he’s ahead of the curve. He can kind of feel the pulse of evil rising. He’s attuned to the life force of Middle-earth, and he’s chosen to stay.”
Charlie Vickers is Halbrand
Halbrand Credit: Matt Grace / Prime Video
Dylan Smith is Largo Brandyfoot, Markella Kavenagh is Elanor “Nori” Brandyfoot and Megan Richards is Poppy Proudfellow
Ben Rothstein/Prime Video
Nori is a Harfoot as well as the offspring of Largo and Marigold. Nori is an empath, playful, and “frustrating to a lot of creatures and her family,” according to Kavenagh, who also added that Nori ultimately leads with love.
The actor described the character as “a very resolute, inquisitive, interested half foot” who “sort of leads with the idea that a fear of risk might be greater than the risk itself and that sometimes you simply need to take it.” She wants to believe that you can overcome risk-taking since she is a risk-taker.
Poppy is Nori’s best friend, and the two are “the ying to each other’s yang,” according to Richards, who also said this in the same panel. The Hobbits Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippen (Billy Boyd) from “The Fellowship” come to mind while comparing them.
Poppy is “more careful of the two and tries to rein Nori in,” the actor said. But despite her advice, Nori acts as she pleases, and Poppy follows.
When a meteor crashes, Daniel Weyman, known as the Stranger, is found in the crater by Nori and Poppy.
Sara Zwangobani and Sadoc Burrows’ Lenny Henry (Marigold Brandyfoot)
Sadac (middle) and Marigold (right) Prime Video
The Harfoot chieftain who watches out for his followers and keeps them out of trouble is Sadoc.
Nori’s mother Marigold is a hobbit who dislikes embracing change.
“They have carried on a tradition for many generations. When something unexpected occurs, it breaks the balance of their way of life, as they had anticipated, Zwangobani said of her character. “One of the difficulties is that while some members of my family are eager to welcome the new, others, like Marigold, are only looking to preserve what we already have. And I believe that’s where the difficulties are.
Daniel Weyman is The Stranger
The Stranger Amazon Studios