If you’re anything like me then Peter Jackson’s interpretation of The Lord of the Rings will have burned itself so deep in your mind it’ll have overwritten the images conjured up by your own imagination when reading the books. As such it’s weird seeing another interpretation of J R.R. Tolkien’s work, especially from Amazon, which is coming in the form of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
While the deep lore and stories of Tolkien’s Middle Earth are far from fully mined, it’s not yet clear what saga the The Rings of Power will be based on other than being a prequel to LotR and obviously including the rings that were used by elves, dwarves and men as items of power. And a new trailer for The Rings of Power (which is somewhat hidden, as it's not on YouTube) raises more questions than it answers.
For example, what’s that comet streaking across the sky all about? Who’s the big bad? What are those weird Avatar-esque flying creatures? And what happened to all the blonde elves? Are there orcs? And where are all the… rings?
So in short, we’re not really any more clued up on the story for The Rings of Power, though we do know the series will feature Elrond and Galadriel (seen in the LotR movies) along with the likes of elven High King Gil-galad and dwarven leader Prince Durin IV; just don’t expect the likes of Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett or others of the LotR movies to pop up, as the Rings of Power has what appears to be a wholly original cast.
The new trailer, which is available for U.S. Amazon Prime Video subscribers, does show that the Ring of Power will take place across a large swath of Middle Earth. And some Peter Jackson-style imagery, shots and set design looks to feature too; that should put a smile on the faces of fans of the movies.
And the overall flavor of the trailer gives me the impression of a series that’ll blend the scale of the LotR movies with some of the character arcs of The Witcher Netflix series. I especially hope it leans into the latter a good bit, as it would be nice to get an idea of life in Middle Earth, as surely elves don’t spend all their days walking around softly and speaking earnestly and dwarves can’t all be bearded drinkers…
At the end of this “bonus trailer,” another is teased for July 14. So hopefully we’ll get a better idea of what The Rings of Power is really all about then.
And speaking of that day, it’s when Prime Day will be in full swing, so you can not only get a LotR fix but also grab some discounts on some excellent gear, say a new LG C1 OLED TV at a killer price; I have one and it’s brilliant for watching Prime Video shows on.
