The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power Teaser Is a Breathtaking Look at Middle-earth

Prime Video released the main teaser for Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power, a prequel to the popular franchise that introduces fans to new characters and kingdoms.

By Cydney Contreras Jul 14, 2022 2:32 PMTags
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It's time for a trip to Middle-earth.

The awe-inspiring teaser for Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power was released July 14, transporting viewers back to the Second Age. "There was a time when the Earth was so young, there had not yet been a sunrise," a voice says as the sun peeks through the Two Trees. "But even then, there was light." 

The preview includes breathtaking views of the Elven realms of Lindon and Eregion, the Dwarven realm Khazad-dûm, the Southlands, the Northernmost Wastes, the Sundering Seas and the island kingdom of Númenór, as described by J.R.R. Tolkien in the books that inspired the films. "Elves had forests to protect, dwarves their mines, men their fields of grain," the voice continues, "but we harfoots have each other."

But these idyllic scenes are disrupted by an unseen evil that threatens to destroy life as they know it. Galadriel (Morfydd Clark)—who was played by Cate Blanchett in Peter Jackson's trilogy—argues with Elrond (Robert Aramayo) about the urgency to fight this evil, telling him, "The enemy is out there. The question is where."

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2022 TV Premiere Dates

Elrond tells her their fight is over, but Galadriel insists, "You have not seen what I have seen."

The sneak peek gives a glimpse of the ensuing fight to save the realms, with men on horseback wielding swords and ships fighting against strong currents. 

This is the first time Lord of the Rings fans have seen the legendary characters from the island kingdom of Númenor, including Isildur (Maxim Baldry), Elendil (Lloyd Owen), Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle) and Queen Regent Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson). "People have some ideas of what elves look like or what dwarves look like and what those kingdoms might look like," showrunner J.D. Payne told Entertainment Weekly. "But Númenor was, in some ways, a blank canvas."

In fact, Payne and co-showrunner Patrick McKay were responsible with crafting many aspects of Rings of Power, as the series is inspired by Tolkien's appendices to Lord of the Rings

Ben Rothstein/Prime Video

"This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and one of the greatest villains that ever flowed from Tolkien's pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness," the series description reads. "Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared reemergence of evil to Middle-earth."

Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power premieres Sept. 2 on Prime Video.

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