The first images from Amazon's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power take viewers back to a classic location from the original series. One of the most anticipated television shows of the year is also one of the longest-gestating - and is the most expensive show of all time. The Rings of Power has been in development at Amazon since 2017 and, for much of that time, kept under a cloud of secrecy. Following a lengthy production process, it was finally confirmed the series would premiere in September 2022. Now, with several months still to go before the show's debut, Amazon has begun pulling back the curtain on The Rings of Power.
Set thousands of years before J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, the new show plunges viewers into Middle-earth's Second Age, starting in a time of relative peace. To give an indication of The Rings of Power's large scope, major events like the forging of the eponymous Rings of Power and the rise of Sauron take place within this period of time, and it seems likely the series will depict all of them. Ahead of The Rings of Power's trailer premiere this upcoming Sunday, fans have been granted their first looks at some characters and locations for the series.
In a batch of new images shared by Vanity Fair, a major Lord of the Rings location gets its first proper Rings of Power showcase. The series is confirmed to revisit Khazad-dûm, or, as some fans might recall it, Moria. When The Rings of Power takes place, the dwarf stronghold isn't yet known as Moria and is instead a thriving community underneath the Misty Mountains. The new images reveal both the entrance to Khazad-dûm, as seen behind Princess Disa (Sophia Nomvete), and Khazad-dûm's prince and future king Durin IV (Owain Arthur).
In the Lord of the Rings movies, Khazad-dûm is perhaps best known as the place where Gandalf (Ian McKellen) takes his "last" stand against the Balrog in The Fellowship of the Ring. At that point in Middle-earth history, Khazad-dûm is just a shell of what it used to be. The Rings of Power will show the kingdom at its height, likely filling in aspects of the subterranean community fans have never imagined. Khazad-dûm will be just one area of Middle-earth likely to get a deeper exploration in The Rings of Power, so Tolkien fans will have a lot of new information to pore over.
Khazad-dûm is far from the only connection The Rings of Power holds to Lord of the Rings. As already mentioned, the series will touch upon events that were referenced in Tolkien's primary trilogy. It'll also feature younger versions of characters like Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Elrond (Robert Aramay0). Though The Rings of Power should be able to stand on its own, fans might be smart to give the books a re-read, or sit down for a marathon of Peter Jackson's movies. That way, no connections will slip by unnoticed.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premieres Friday, September 2 on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: Vanity Fair