LOTR: The Rings of Power’s teaser has faces old and new, epic locales, and fierce battles. Suspiciously absent are connections to the Rings of Power.
Teaser footage for Amazon’s upcoming Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power turns the show’s chosen title into something of a misnomer… by having virtually nothing to do with the Rings of Power. When late 2017 brought news that Amazon was plotting an incursion into Middle-earth, the immediate skepticism that follows any Lord of the Rings adaptation was broken by the happy prospect of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Second Age playing out in live-action. No expense has been spared on this Jeff Bezos pet project, with the gargantuan fantasy scale and jam-packed ensemble of actors breaking new ground for a TV series, streaming or otherwise. After much anticipation, the title of this great endeavor was finally unveiled as Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
“Rings of Power” refers to the 20 creations devised by Sauron for the purpose of ruling Middle-earth – the Nine given to Kings of Men, the Seven to the Dwarves, the Three for the Elves, and Sauron’s own One Ring. Made bang in the middle of Tolkien’s Second Age, the Rings of Power proved instrumental in Sauron’s rise, which spanned almost 2000 years before Isildur ultimately deprived the Dark Lord of his golden weapon. Titling its new Lord of the Rings project “The Rings of Power,” Amazon promised to recount the Rings’ creation, and chronicle their impact upon Middle-earth through the Second Age…
Absolutely none of that can be found within The Rings of Power‘s Super Bowl teaser trailer – the first footage released by Amazon since filming wrapped mid-2021. The Rings of Power‘s teaser shows Númenor – the isle of early mortals whose rise and fall happens largely independent of the Rings of Power. Taken to Númenor as a prisoner before gradually assuming control, Sauron wields the One Ring during that period, but that’s the only direct major connection. The teaser then focuses heavily upon Morfydd Clark’s Galadriel – owner of the Elven Ring known as Nenya. However, Galadriel’s story seemingly takes place centuries before the Rings of Power are created, since she’s hunting the remnant followers of Morgoth in Amazon’s narrative. Elsewhere, the Rings of Power teaser highlights Harfoots, nomadic hunters, and battles from the First Age – none of which hold any obvious bearing upon the Rings of Power.
Only the most foolish of Tooks would judge Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on 60 seconds of footage designed for a mass Super Bowl audience. There’s evidently a larger picture to The Rings of Power that doesn’t come across through teaser shots alone. Nevertheless, it’s odd that The Rings of Power‘s first trailer bears only the most tenuous links to its chosen title. There’s no explicit mention of Sauron, who devised the Rings of Power, and no sight of Celebrimbor, who led the Elves in forging them. The Rings of Power were made in Eregion (apart from one, obviously), but this highly-important setting is highly-absent, we don’t clearly see any of the Rings themselves, and nor are they referenced by Markella Kavenagh’s Harfoot narration. Much of The Rings of Power‘s teaser footage isn’t even happening during the right era, seemingly set centuries either side of the Second Age’s 1500s when the Rings were crafted. If Bezos had gone with “Lord of the Rings: A Very Expensive Overview of the Second Age (With A Bit Of The First) as a title, there’d be no room for complaints. He didn’t, and the Super Bowl teaser trailer creates an early disconnect between The Rings of Power‘s title and actual content.
Perhaps the “Rings of Power” connotation isn’t as literal as presumed. Despite lacking the Rings themselves, Amazon’s teaser trailer does feature multiple characters who are/will be Ring-bearers during Middle-earth history – Galadriel, Elrond, Gil-Galad, Durin IV, etc. Maybe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is less concerned with the Rings themselves, and interested more in the various characters who hold – or will eventually hold – each of the 20.
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