Let’s try and gaze into the future once again and divine some information about the Lord of the Rings (LOTR) live-action series set for release on Amazon Prime Video in 2022. Based on actors and gossip, we’ll try and figure out what the story may be, and discuss a few story elements that are likely to appear, or that I would like to see.
Originally in the gossip, I recall hearing, the series would follow a younger Aragorn through his adventures prior to the War of the Ring. More recent news says the series will take place in the Second Age, thousands of years before the original LOTR and Hobbit trilogies. If this is correct, the time frame would be somewhere after the fall of Númenor and before the War of the Last Alliance seen at the start of Fellowship of the Ring. During this time, the twin kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor are at the height of their power but preparing to face threats from the Witch-King of Angmar, the Wainriders from east of Rhun, and the reemergence of Sauron thought destroyed in the fall of Númenor. If all of this sounds like I skipped several chapters forward in the “Teach Yourself Norwegian” study guide, the stories of the Second Age can be found in the Silmarillion.
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But what could this mean for the tv series? It means that most of the characters we know from the LOTR trilogy will likely not be present. Some of the elves we have seen before will be back due to their longevity and casting of Morfydd Clark as a younger Galadriel. I would expect to see some other elves we have met before such as Celeborn, Galadriel’s brother, and Elrond. Reportedly, Celebrimbor has also been included in the series, with actor Tom Budge leaving the show from that role, and the role recast. Joseph Mawle has been included in the cast as the apparent villain of the series, “Oren.” Other characters include “Tyra,” played by Markella Kavenagh, and “Beldor,” played by Will Poulter. The last two names sound definitively human, and Beldor particularly sounds Dunedain in origin.
So what are my predictions? I am convinced the series will mention or follow Celebrimbor for the creation of the 19 Rings of Power, and I will be happy to wager “Oren” might be a servant of Sauron or the dark lord himself under an alias. In the books, Sauron disguised himself under the name Annatar, “Lord of Gifts,” to help Celebribor make the Rings of Power, forging the One Ring for himself later on. Given Celebrimbor is a part of the series, one possible setting would be Eregion, his home, and the place he forged the Rings of Power. This is an elven city near Moria in the Misty Mountains which was destroyed by orcs, and I’ll bet we see this happen. I’ll also wager that Beldor is a human from the northern Kingdom of Arnor who participates in this event and possibly helps to facilitate the Last Alliance, which I foresee as the series finale. I would not be surprised by mentions or cameos of Saruman and Gandalf, both of whom were active during this time, but did not have the influence they did in the Third Age.
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Overall, I am excited to return to Middle Earth, and I am optimistic about this series. Look through your Palantir to our blog for more news in the future, and look for the show’s release, currently marked for Fall 2022!
