First Look at the Rings of Power

As I've mentioned before on this blog, I've been a huge fan of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings since discovering it around the age of 12 or so. And seeing the books come to life with loving care and a firm sense of conviction in the material in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films (2001–03) was certainly a dream come true for this kid's still beating fanboy heart—the films not only surpassed my expectations (as well as most people's), they received critical acclaim and validated my love of the books by being embraced by mainstream audiences. (While I have fondness for the Hobbit film trilogy (2011–14) and even the Ralph Bakshi Lord of the Rings film, Jackson's films were the pinnacle of adaptations).

So it's with some interest that I look forward to the upcoming Amazon Studios series, the Rings of Power, that will cover the "Second Age" of Middle Earth, which set the stage for the climax of the Third Age, as told in the original trilogy.

With the series due to drop in September 2022, Amazon dropped a well done dramatic title reveal in mid-January...

 

...followed by advance coverage in the form of a behind the scenes first look in Vanity Fair and the drop of its first trailer during the Super Bowl:

As always, it all lies in the execution—only after the series drops will we know whether the new series stays true to the books (and fans' expectations). That said, I appreciate the scale of the world of Middle Earth they've shown in the teaser, as well as the sophistication of the special effects; both show epic action and quiet thoughtful character moments that hopefully will be part of the series.

To add my own two cents though, I do hope that there will be a modicum of humor in the series as well. While Jackson stayed true to the books, what's sometimes overlooked is that he also smartly added occasional humor to the proceedings, both to "humanize" the usually very un-human characters but also to take off the edge off of the solemnity that are indeed part of the mythic story. By doing so, Jackson deftly subtly reminded modern audiences that this was still all meant to be entertaining (he also satisfied the impish sense of humor that has always been part of this filmography), while fully showing respect for the story and characters. He approached the material very seriously without making it feel self-important. So let's hope the show runners of the new series keeps that in mind as well.

Fingers crossed!