Amazon’s Lord of the Rings Forges a Title to Rule Us All

Amazon Studios has officially revealed the title of its upcoming Lord of the Rings TV series – and, given its ties to Sauron and the Second Age of Middle-earth, it sounds very sinister indeed.

Revealed in a post on Amazon Prime Video’s Lord of the Rings Twitter account, the studio’s live-action prequel series will now be known as The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

A one-minute teaser accompanied the title reveal, which included a voice-over narrating one of the most famous passages from JRR Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy:

New (albeit thin) details about Amazon’s Lord of the Rings TV series have emerged alongside its title. Talk to The Hollywood Reporter (THR), showrunners JD Payne and Patrick Mackay explained their decision to focus on creating the Great Rings as part of the show’s overall plot.

“It’s a title that we imagine could live on the back of a book alongside JRR Tolkien’s other classics,” the duo said in a statement. “The Rings of Power brings together all the major stories of the Second Age of Middle-earth: the forging of the rings, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, the epic of Númenor and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men.

“Until now, audiences have only seen the story of the One Ring on screen – but before there was one, there were many…and we’re thrilled to share everyone’s epic story.”

As also reported by THR, The Rings of Power aspect of the title puts an end to speculation that Sauron won’t appear in Amazon’s prequel series. Currently, there is no word on who should portray the Dark Lord. But, given that another Prime Video series – The Wheel of Time – didn’t reveal which actor was cast as the villain until the Season 1 finale, we may have to wait for the Lord’s official launch. rings from Amazon before finding out. who will play Sauron.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will be released exclusively on Prime Video on September 2, 2022.

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Analysis: Assembling the Lord of the Rings puzzle

As most Lord of the Rings fans will have learned from the title and trailer, The Rings of Power is about the other 19 rings that were forged by the elf Celebrimbor at the behest of Sauron.

The diehards and movie fans should remember that three rings were delivered to the elves, seven to the dwarves, and nine to the lords of men. The last group of this trio eventually succumbed to the influence of their rings and became the Nazgûl, some of Sauron’s most trusted lieutenants.

Given the setting of the big-budget fantasy show – i.e. the Second Age of Middle-earth – it should come as no huge surprise that we see the Great Rings being forged and distributed before Sauron really tries to dominate the fictional world of Tolkien.

Still, it’s good to know that this vital story thread will be covered in detail. Amazon Studios couldn’t tell a story set in the Second Age and just gloss over the creation of the Rings of Power, so we’re glad The Lord of the Rings TV show does that to some degree.

It will, however, be interesting to know how much time will be spent on the forging of the Great Rings in the TV show.

In Tolkien’s novels, we know that Sauron befriended the elven smiths of Eregion, including Celebrimbor, to persuade them to create the rings. But, while we had some Confirmation of actors who will play certain characters – Saint Maud’s Morfydd Clark will play Galadriel, for example – Amazon hasn’t revealed all of the roles of its 39 actors.

So it’s unclear if Celebrimbor will be the only elven smith to appear in Rings of Power, or if other personalities will help him create the magical artifacts. Now that we have an official title, hopefully it won’t be long before Amazon Studios releases a full list of characters from the series.