If you are part of the unlucky group of people that couldn’t attend theLord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerpanel at today’s SDCC, you’ll be happy to know that Prime Video made the entire thing available on YouTube, so you can get a feel of what it was like, what the cast had to say about the upcoming (and highly anticipated) series, and all the information revealed. Set to premiere in early September, the epic show will chronicle the creation of the rings that ultimately led to transforming Sauron in one of Middle Earth’s biggest threats.
The main reveal from the panel was, of course, the new trailer that was debuted at the event (and shown repeatedly), which highlighted the fact that Sauron’s presence in the series is very much real and the original film series villain is already feared across Middle Earth — and taken as a serious threat. The trailer also revealed the return of another evil villain, the Balrog which lurks in the depths of Moria.
The panel also featured the huge cast of the series, which came out in separate blocks to answer questions and introduce clips featuring their characters. The slates includedRobert Aramayo(Elrond),Benjamin Walker(High King Gil-Galad),Charles Edwards(Celebrimbor),Peter Mullan(King Durin III),Sophia Nomvete(Princess Disa),Ismael Cruz Cordova(Arondir),Nazanin Boniadi(Bronwyn),Tyroe Muhafidin(Theo),Sara Zwangobani(Marigold Brandyfoot),Megan Richards(Poppy Proudfellow),Markella Kavenagh(Nori Brandyfoot),Daniel Weyman(The Stranger),Morfydd Clark(Galadriel),Charlie Vickers(Halbrand),Cynthia Addai-Robinson(Queen Regent Miriel),Trystan Gravelle(Pharazon),Leon Wadham(Kemen),Ema Horvath(Earien),Lloyd Owen(Elendil), andMaxim Baldry(Isildur).
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Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Poweris set to become a milestone in terms of production: Season 1 will be the most expensive season ever produced on TV, with a budget of nearly half a billion dollars. All of it will be helmed by showrunnersJ.D. PayneandPatrick McKay, who have teased afive-season archas been planned, with events from Season 1 only paying off many years later. DirectorJ.A. Bayona(Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom), helms the first two episodes of the season and sets the tone for the entire series – which has already started production on Season 2.
The series will premiere September 2. You can watch the full Q&A panel below, and also check out the official synopsis for the series:
Prime Video’s ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth’s history. 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’, 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 the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness. 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 re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.
