The Rings of Power star Benjamin Walker has discussed his character King Gil-galad's inner conflict in Amazon's Lord of the Rings series. Walker portrays the High King of the Ñoldor Elves in the upcoming series based on J.R.R. Tolkien's world of Middle Earth. The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power is set to release on Amazon Prime on September 2, 2022.
First appearing briefly in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings during a flashback to The War of the Last Alliance portrayed by Mark Ferguson, King Gil-galad was one of the founders of the alliance who would face and ultimately fall to Sauron at Barud-dûr at the end of the war. With The Rings of Power chronicling the build-up to the war with Sauron throughout the Second Age, Gil-galad is set to have a key role in the series, portrayed by Walker. While tensions are high between Humans and Elves in the prequel series, Walker has recently teased that his Elvish monarch will have a greater, age-old existential conflict weighing on his mind throughout the show.
During The Rings of Power's press event at San-Diego Comic-Con 2022, Walker revealed to Screen Rant that Gil-galad would grapple with everything he has experienced throughout his long Elvish life. The actor revealed that despite having to watch those he has cared for pass away while he remained, Gil-galad is still hopeful and determined to uphold his duties, with the series exploring what keeps him moving forward. Walker elaborated by explaining that Gil-galad's conflict is inspired directly by Tolkien's writing, as the character is constantly vigilant for the inevitable rise of evil despite currently living through relative peace. Check out Walker's full explanation below.
"Gil-galad is thousands of years old, and he has to wrestle with this question. When you've seen everyone you know and love die over and over again, how do you muster the strength to have hope? And he does.
Tolkien understood the inevitability of the resurrection of evil, and Gil-galad in particular is constantly vigilant. But that's the price of peace: vigilance. There's your television conflict right there. It writes itself."
The team behind Amazon Prime's upcoming series addressed the rising evil when they revealed why the series would explore the Second Age. During The Rings of Power's SDCC 2022 panel, the series' creatives explained that they decided to focus on the Second Age due to wanting to explore a more human story, as its cast grappled with the rise of Sauron and the threat he would pose. The showrunners stated that they wanted the audience to imagine facing an impending, unavoidable threat capable of destroying all they had come to hold dear, as well as showing the length to which the cast would go to protect what they love.
The Rings of Power will expand on an era only briefly glimpsed at through Jackson's film trilogy, with the series' SDCC trailer teasing great battles and Sauron's emergence long before Bilbo (Martin Freeman) or Frodo's (Elijah Wood) own journeys across Middle-Earth. While Gil-galad's fate has already been glimpsed at in previous adaptations, Walker's comments promise that the character's own conflicts will resonate with the series' core themes while teasing fans with possible plot details. Though fans know Sauron will rise once more beyond the Second Age, Gil-galad's tale is set to explore the lives of the Elves, as well as how one faces ever-present evil.