Prime Video’s The Rings of Power has finally uncorked its long embargoed set visits, which occurred over a year ago in April 2023, with many articles from various outlets sharing exclusive pics and details for Season 2 of the billion dollar TV show. Here are links to recent posts, plus some of the most interesting reveals that fans are buzzing about.
TV Insider has a well written article in which they have a lot of fun visiting the unnamed secret battle sets for Season 2. “If there’s one word to describe this season, it’s “more.” More evil. More action. More rings (make that a lot more).” Seems that the leaks may be true that all the 17 remaining rings of power will be seen this season. TV Insider focuses on all the new department heads for Season 2, needed because of moving the production away from New Zealand. “We toured the tent and spoke with one Orc actor who has a special arc this season.”
According to this article, “The roots of his current “Halbrand” form are explained in the season’s brutal opening scene, which showrunner J.D. Payne describes as “an Ides of March-esque” sequence that fellow showrunner Patrick McKay says will make you “pity” the dark lord.” The Ides of March is famously the story of the political betrayal and assassination of Julius Caesar. They also confirm the premiere will be 3 full episodes. Read the whole thing – it touches on a lot of the themes going into S2.
IGN also visited the set and opens with a discussion with the showrunners. Explains McKay, “You know, it’s really hip to be cynical and roll your eyes and, you know, be postmodern and winky, winky, winky. And we’re just not gonna play that game.” Season 2’s new stunt co-ordinator Ben Cooke “also mentioned a specific stunt for Aramayo where Elrond is cornered and jumps from a 50 ft. waterfall. What’s he running from?!” Season 2 has a whopping 120 physical sets, and the Khazad-dûm set is bigger in size. Read the written set visit by Amy Ratcliffe, then check out the whole bulleted list of official things.
Den of Geek joined the set visit festivities with a first person write up, putting the reader in the middle of the mud soaked action on set. “But while the weather may have helped pile on the authentic mud, that First World War vibe is very much a deliberate artistic choice as well. Once we’ve got back to the main studio and dried off, we are shown a miniature model used in designing Adar’s orc encampment for season two. This looks even more like the Western Front in World War I, as it’s full of trenches and ladders, and if it weren’t for the Orcs and the lack of tanks, it could almost be a historical set. Just across the table is a piece of armor with snake details., including the ouroboros symbol—a snake eating its own tail, symbolizing immorality and eternity. The Orc armor is an impressive mish-mash of influences, as the idea behind it is that the Orcs have looted it from other cultures and mixed that in with the bones of their enemies.”
Nerdist focuses on the dwarves with their set visit, revealing the first pic of father and son Durin. Production Designer Kristian Milsted says, “We could look at what they did for Khazad-dûm in season one, and we could say, ‘Okay, now we’re going to give it a twist, and we’re going to make it more sinister, make it more dark.’ It’s about greed. It’s something that the dwarves are good at.”
Rings press tour brings culture to events and conventions
Essence Festival 2024 was in New Orleans over July 4 weekend and featured a dedicated panel for Prime Video’s The Rings of Power and The Boys. Black Girl Nerds has the write up, featuring Cynthia Addai-Robinson and Sophia Nomvete.
Arondir and Isildur visited the IGN Fan Fest to debut the new character in their storyline: Estrid. Watch the 13 minute clip here.
SDCC is almost here and Deadline unveils what Prime Video is bringing to the biggest pop culture stage in the world. We will have more details soon!
Light and Dark colliding in Collider
Our pals at Collider.com have a series of articles around Season 2 of The Rings of Power. First, Steve Weintraub got to chat with the showrunners on how fans are shaping future seasons of the 5-season tentpole series. “Season 2 was largely written before Season 1 came out, but Season 2 has been produced after Season 1 came out. Part of the learning process for us on this is really seeing what people seem to respond to in the show. We also take in everything. We read everything. We read the reviews, we read what you all have written, we read what your colleagues have written, and we read what the fans are saying.” Patrick McKay may be seeing all your Discord messages!
Next up was an effort to reveal who the meteor man ‘stranger’ is, but the showrunners are not revealing anything yet. “Despite what some folks might think, we’re really not about a game; we’re really not about a puzzle. But we also don’t wanna take for granted where characters will end up. We want to see them grow and change along the way, and we hope that in the end, you look back and it feels inevitable, but in the moment… I’m trying to say it but not say it. [Laughs]” They do reveal that Season 2 will go to Rhûn, Pelargir, Grey Havens, older parts of Númenor, and deeper into Khazad-dûm.
Celebrimbor and Annatar get new pics revealed in Collider’s third article of the day. J.D. Payne says, “Season 2 is gonna be all about the villains, and specifically all about Sauron. We’re going to watch as he uses deception, manipulation, lies, coercion, cunning to start to set the chess pieces in motion . He’s gonna go to this person over here and sort of set this group against that group over there and start using people’s inherent trusts and mistrusts and fears against them to start to set up the situations that are all beneficial to him.”
The huge EMPIRE magazine exclusive
By far the most talked about piece of news this last week was EMPIRE magazine’s multi-page exclusive for Season 2 of The Rings of Power. The main reveal was a focus on the first screen representation of the Barrow-wights. While exciting to see these skeletal ghosts finally come to life on screen, it’s not without some concern from global fans who fear cultural appropriation and use of stereotypical tropes of “eastern = evil.” But there’s so much ground covered in EMPIRE it’s worth finding an issue with the 3D lenticular cover at a bookstore or read free with an Apple News+ subscription.
EMPIRE also reveals the first named troll on screen since The Hobbit movies turned Tom, Burt and William to stone. The hill troll Damrod serves Adar in the upcoming season.
Showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay talk about the critical feedback to mysteries of Season 1 saying, “The clues to the correct answer were there from the start. Literally in the first shot of Charlie [Vickers, as Halbrand] in Season 1, he looks back at the camera with one eye.” Closing out the huge EMPIRE feature they talk about retooling after leaving Season 1 in New Zealand. “The big move from New Zealand to the UK was, McKay says on set, “a bit of a chance to in some ways reboot and rebuild — another opportunity to take another big whack at it” (in terms of the filmmaking process rather than the narrative choices, he later qualifies).”
The fallen elf and leader of Uruks has a new vibe, thanks to a new actor named Sam Hazeldine.
Entertainment Weekly got an exclusive interview with the actor taking over the role of Adar, the main antagonist for the first two seasons of The Rings of Power. Hazeldine comes fresh off the huge success of AppleTV+ show Masters of the Air (he’s in the final three episodes as the leader of the Air Force troupe) and it seems that he’s relished the opportunity to play in the fantasy world of J.R.R Tolkien.
“The hardest thing was I had to go straight into speaking Black Speech on day one,” the actor says. “It is hard on your throat, and it is hard to remember because it doesn’t really follow the elvish languages, which have roots in real languages like Welsh and Finnish.” He even had the show’s Tolkien lore experts rewrite some of his lines from English into Black Speech, in order to give Adar the proper gravitas.
EW, quoting Sam Hazeldine for S2
Staffer Demosthenes here. Just quickly, there’s another quote from Hazledine that is ridiculously thought-provoking.
Viewers will also see how previous confrontations between Adar and Sauron unfolded.
“There was an offer for power and for something else, which you’ll find out later on in the show, and Adar willingly took the deal,” Hazeldine says of Adar’s origin. “It’s kind of like he took a red pill and was duped. He was horrifically tortured and maimed.”
EW, quoting Sam Hazeldine for S2
What is that “something else”? Is it the chance to redeem all orcs? Would that be enough to convince Adar to follow Sauron? Is Adar one of those mentioned in The Rings of Power and the Third Age who believed Sauron had “abjured his evil deeds”? What sort of power would be a lure for Adar anyway?
We’re hoping to explore these questions and provide some grounded speculation over coming weeks. Anyway, back to Justin!
We previously shared a Tolkien scholar’s opinion on the invented character Adar with this post after Season 1. Overwhelmingly, fans embraced the character and this new interview has generated a ton of hype going into Season 2, and even Adar fan cams!
A spy report sent in by a fan confirms, for the first time, that Tolkien’s great antagonist of the Second Age will have the name that fans have been hoping and waiting hear — Annatar.
Annatar arrives for his adaptation debut
The July 2024 issue of EMPIRE Magazine hits newsstands this week featuring an exclusive new interview with Lindsey Weber, Executive Producer of The Rings of Power on Prime Video. Grab a copy (or two!) if you can find one (Ed: you can subscribe online and Mac junkies can also apparently get the article via Apple News.). But let’s not bury the lede: for the first time in official marketing or messaging, Prime Video has let loose the heralded name of Sauron’s alter-ego that has fans on edge of their seats:
Meanwhile, Sauron still has (counts fingers, runs out) 16 more rings to usher into being, not including the One that will in the darkness bind them. It’s taken him eight episodes just to get to three. He needs to get cracking. And that’s certainly what he does in Season 2, adopting a new identity as blond-locked elf Annatar and becoming besties with the worryingly pliant Celebrimbor. (emphasis mine)
Empire Magazine, July 2024
There are a lot of juicy tidbits from Lindsey Weber in this piece so let’s highlight one of the most important storylines for Season 2:
“The relationship between those two characters — and those two actors Charlie Vickers and Charles Edwards — is something we’re so proud of. It is a spectacular performance from both of them and a really compelling story that’s very much at the heart of what we’re doing this season. Sauron wants to control all of Middle-earth, and he knows he needs rings to do it. And he needs the greatest of elven smiths to make those rings.”
Lindsey Weber, EP of TROP
Fans immediately took to twitter after seeing the exclusive reveal during TORN Tuesday this week.
— Berek of Numenor, Isildur’s Horse (@BerekTheHorse) June 5, 2024
“The relationship between those two characters – and those two actors, Charlie and Charles, is something we're so proud of," says Weber. "It is a spectacular performance from both of them and a really compelling story that's very much at the heart of what we're doing this season.… pic.twitter.com/2ODLivxnho
— Rings Of Power Era (@RingsOfPowerEra) June 5, 2024
I’m so excited to have it finally publicly confirmed the Rings of Power will indeed be using the name Annatar for Sauron in season two! 🧝🏼♂️ #TROPspoilers
via Empire Magazine’s upcoming issue, shared early by @theoneringnet
— Tea with Rings of Power ☕️ (@teawithtrop) June 5, 2024
— Ivyy✨ is waiting for TROP s2 (@rukiasbankaii) June 5, 2024
and finally…
Watch the reveal happen at 1:38:30 in the middle of the show, or watch the whole episode which has so much MORE news about The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and other adaptations.
Today, however, TORn Discord regular Webcrawler is eager to analyse some scenes from the teaser trailer that hint at the S2 plot of Númenor, starting with one question…
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Why is Pharazôn standing in front of an Eagle with a drawn sword?
by TORn Discord Regular Webcrawler
Some here at TORn have speculated this doesn’t bode well for the eagle, nor for Númenor. After all, Pharazôn isn’t one of the Faithful, and wouldn’t hold them in the same sort of respect. But connecting some dots through other scenes and the lore may provide a clue about what’s truly occuring.
Pharazôn draws his sword in front of an Eagle of Manwë.
The Eagles lived in the northern regions of Númenor, in the northern cape of Forostar. Up until the time of Tar-Ancalimon, there was also a nest of golden eagles at the summit of the tower in the King’s Palace. This would be the same tower where Tar-Palantir was held in The Rings of Power Season 1. Plus, there were three Eagles, known as the Witnesses of Manwë, that lived near the peak of the Meneltarma.
“The Forostar was the least fertile part; stony, with few trees, save that on the westward slopes of the high heather-covered moors there were woods of fir and larch. Towards the North Cape the land rose to rocky heights, and there great Sorontil rose sheer from the sea in tremendous cliffs. Here was the abode of many eagles.”
The Fall of Númenor
The peak of Meneltarma is visible from the city of Armenelos.Map of Númenor as drawn for The Rings of Power. Places said to be inhabited by Eagles are circled.
We have seen the King’s Tower in Season 1 of The Rings of Power, and there was no indication that any eagles currently nested atop the tower. This is because in Season 1 the Númenoreans no longer hold faith in the Valar and had let go of the old ways. So this could mean the Eagle comes from either the far north, or from the summit of Meneltarma.
“To the great eagles that were held sacred to Manwë, and never afflicted, until the days of evil and the hatred of the Valar began. For two thousand years, from the days of Elros Tar-Minyatur until the time of Tar-Ancalimon son of Tar-Atanamir, there was an eyrie in the summit of the tower of the King’s palace in Armenelos; and there one pair ever dwelt and lived on the bounty of the King.”
The Fall of Númenor
The King’s Tower in S1E8 with no sign of an Eagle’s nest to be seen.
In S1E3, “Adar”, Miriel makes a passing reference to the ban of elves by Tar-Atanamir. This would have marked the beginning of Númenor’s rejection of the Valar. The text above indicates that starting from the time of the reign of Tar-Atanamir’s son, there would no longer be an Eagle’s nest in the King’s Tower as well as a ban on the elves.
So, does this mean that Pharazôn means to take it one step further, and kill an eagle? To answer that we need to examine another moment revealed in the behind-the-scenes video.
Miriel, dressed in a white gown, and with either a circlet or a crown on her head, descending down the stairs in the palace court in Armenelos.
Upon closer inspection of the picture, it seems like Miriel is wearing the same circlet she wore in Season 1. Clearly, upon returning to Númenor from the expedition, she hasn’t lost her status as Queen Regent, nor as possibly the future Queen. The white outfit however is new, and looks quite ceremonial. A brief description in The Fall of Númenor explains that the King would wear a white ceremonial outfit when it came to offering prayers at the Meneltarma.
“Thrice only in each year the King spoke, offering prayer for the coming year at the Erukyermë in the first days of spring, praise of Eru Ilúvatar at the Erulaitalë in midsummer, and thanksgiving to him at the Eruhantalë at the end of autumn. At these times the King ascended the mountain on foot followed by a great concourse of the people, clad in white and garlanded, but silent.” [Ed.: emphasis added]
The Fall of Númenor
This is the same royal court we see in Season 1, and we have another picture of Pharazôn in this location wearing his new red outfit. All these images are from the same single scene. Clearly, these seems to be a ceremonial event taking place; instead of at the Meneltarma, the show has decided to do it in Armenelos. The text also tells us that three eagles circle the Meneltarma during the prayer offerings, and this is seen as a sign of a blessing from the Valar.
“If anyone approached the summit, at once three eagles would appear and alight upon three rocks near to the western edge; but at the times of the Three Prayers they did not descend, remaining in the sky and hovering above the people They were called the Witnesses of Manwë, and they were believed to be sent by him from Aman to keep watch upon the Holy Mountain and upon all the land.” [Ed.: emphasis added]
The Fall of Númenor
However, the text also says the eagles do not descend during the prayers, so why does it do so here? We know from the lore that Tolkien’s eagles are wise, and are messengers of Manwë. So is it possible it’s come down to give the Númenoreans a message?
One major plot point that could be covered in Season 2 of The Rings of Power is the Battle of Gwathló, or the arrival of the Númenoreans in Middle-earth to aid and defend Lindon after the Siege of Eriador. We’ve mentioned previously that set leaks have shown the Siege of Eregion is happening in Season 2. We see images of the siege of Eregion in the teaser trailer. In the text the siege and further attack on Eriador by Sauron’s forces takes place long before Elendil’s time, but obviously for the show the timeline has been rearranged and condensed.
1697 Eregion laid waste. Death of Celebrimbor. The gates of Moria are shut. Elrond retreats with remnant of the Noldor and founds the refuge of Imladris. 1699 Sauron overruns Eriador. 1700 Tar-Minastir sends a great navy from Númenor to Lindon. Sauron is defeated. 1701 Sauron is driven out of Eriador. The Westlands have peace for a long while.
The Lord of the Rings. Appendix B. The Tale of Years.
So it’s quite possible, given that the elves of Middle-earth and Lindon have no communication with one another, that the eagle of Manwë is used as a messenger to call Númenor to arms once again. There is another leak by Fellowship of Fans that mentions a “Telperiën Bay” as a location.
There is no Telperiën Bay in the Legendarium, but there is a Tar-Telperiën, the tenth ruler of Númenor and the second ruling Queen. Here is what it says about here rule in the Unfinished Tales:
X Tar-Telperien She was the second Ruling Queen of Númenor. She was long-lived (for the women of the Númenóreans had the longer life, or laid down their lives less easily), and she would wed with no man. Therefore after her day the sceptre passed to Minastir; he was the son of Isilmo, the second child of Tar-Súrion. 8 Tar-Telperien was born in the year 1320; she ruled for 175 years, until 1731, and died in that same year.
Unfinished Tales: The Line of Elros: The Kings of Númenor
It was during her rule that Tar-Minastir sent the Númenorean forces in 1700 to help Lindon against Sauron’s forces. So it is quite possible this “bay” is a sly hint to Tar-Telperiën’s actions in lore. Thus we could infer the formation of a Númenorean naval force to come to the aid of Lindon.
And who could lead this force? Well, maybe, the person drawing the sword.
We know that eventually Pharazôn arrives with an army at Umbar to assail Sauron. At this point, Sauron surrenders himself. But that happens long after Tar-Minastir’s time. And so, having condensed the timeline of the show, what seems most likely is that the show is moving Pharazon’s fleet arriving in Middle-earth to right after the Siege of Eregion, during the War of the Elves and Sauron just as Sauron’s forces assail Lindon.
So why does Pharazôn draw his sword? If he meant to attack the Eagle, he would draw it towards the eagle; but he draws it while facing his fellow Númenoreans with the Eagle behind him. Lindon calls for aid. And well…
About the author: Webcrawler is a full-time data analyst and a part-time Tolkien aficionado who frequents the TheOneRing.net Discord Server.When he’s not working or in the discord, Webcrawler is horsing around on Twitter.
Vanity Fair have today revealed that one of Tolkien’s most beloved characters to ever hit the cutting room floor will finally make his on-screen debut, courtesy of Prime Video’s second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
The Age of Iarwain Ben-Adar, Oraid, and Forn is finally upon us!
Old Tom Bombadil is a merry fellow! Bright blue his jacket is, and his boots are yellow! Now let his song begin! But what is he after? Fighting off some barrow-wights? Or a masked ring crafter?
Tom Bombadil in The Rings of Power played by Rory Kinnear
To this point, Jolly Tom’s fandom footprints have been largely limited to readers’ imaginations, audio book embellishments, an iconic Hildebrandt Brothers 1976 calendar (seen below), and an occasional illustration on collectible card games. He’s even made a Weta-crafted live action appearance that only made it as far as a long out-of-print Decipher CCG card.
All of that is about to change as Rory Kinnear steps into the role of Middle-earth’s Eldest and Master. An Olivier Award-winning English actor and playwright, Kinnear is perhaps best known for his roles in the Imitation Game, Penny Dreadful, the Daniel Craig era of James Bond movies, and most recently as Churchill in the Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. Vanity Fair’s article also includes an interview with the man about to fill these large yellow boots.
It’s Friday 17 May 2024 – and a seismic shift in The Lord of the Rings adaptations has been felt around the world. Here’s all the news you may have missed:
Rings of Power S2 gets a trailer, a date, and a BTS video
Prime Video unveiled season 2 of The Rings of Power at their UPFRONTS, an advertising industry event designed to lure more advertisers to buying commercials during shows. Prime also updated the show’s social media handles from LOTRonPrime to @TheRingsOfPower and released a 3 minute Behind-the-scenes look at S2.
Season 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power debuts Thursday August 29, 2024 with a 3-episode premiere, then settles into weekly episodes for the remaining 5 weeks.
LEGO Barad-Dur tower date and price
The 5,471 piece set is available June 1 for $459.99.
We see you. You can't hide your passion for the new Lord of the Rings: Barad-dûr™ set ☄️ pic.twitter.com/wx7ANVApcS
The first movie in the new WB LOTR license is The Hunt for Gollum, directed by Andy Serkis, who also will play the character again. Produced by Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, with a screenplay by The War of the Rohirrim writers Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou. Read more about how they landed on this particular story in the Legendarium.
In a technical slip up, the automated YouTube and WB copyright system temporarily took down the 15-year-old fan film The Hunt for Gollum, which was back up within hours and is still free to watch.
Rohirrim preview in June while scoring continues remotely
Exec Producer Jason Demarco announced a “big chunk of the film” will be screened at Annecy animation festival in June, and shared a new logo for the movie.
Composer Stephen Gallagher continues to post updates on the scoring of the new Anime LOTR movie coming this December.
Middle-earth Enterprises owner Embracer Freemode shared an in-depth interview with CEO Lee Guinchard, where he lays out the strategy going forward to build The Lord of the Rings into a premium, high quality brand that is collaborative and fan-first.
LOTR Executive Producer Mark Ordesky has teamed up with the Blair Witch creators to launch a new fantasy project: an omni-channel disc-world universe with a dice game on Kickstarter.
Black Milk Clothing has finally restocked its official LOTR apparel, including this Arwen dress.
Christopher Lee feature-length documentary, featuring a brand new interview with Peter Jackson, enters its final Blu-ray pre-order days with a Dracula inspired premium box set.
