The cast of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power released a new trailer for Season 2 of the series on Prime Video during their epic panel at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday. The panel included Morfydd Clarke (Galadriel), Charlie Vickers (Sauron), Robert Aramayo (Elrond), Ismael Cruz Córdova (Arrondir), Charles Edwards (Celebrimbor), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Meryl), Sophia Nomvete (Dessa), Tero Muhavidin (Theo), Daniel Wyman (The Stranger), as well as showrunners and executive producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay.
Shots: The Comic-Con trailer opens with a shot of Vickers as Sauron and focuses on how the film's title rings lure elves and dwarves into the realms of the elves, including Galadriel, who wears one of the rings despite Elrond's protests. We also see a Balrog, an Ent, a giant spider, and all sorts of other creatures.
“An ancient and powerful evil has returned,” narrates the dwarf Durin IV (Owen Arthur). A new group of warriors, including Galadriel (Morfydd Clarke) and Elrond (Robert Aramayo), prepare to fight an army of goblins marching through a dark forest.
“Sauron sees himself as the lord of all Middle-earth,” Galadriel says at the beginning of the trailer. “He seeks to rule it not by conquest alone, but by subjugating the minds of all its peoples to his control. For this he does not need armies, but rather rings.”
“By choosing to wear these rings, you have all become his collaborators,” Elrond tells her.
“I know you think this ring is deceiving me, but I think it is guiding me,” she replied.
When Elrond demands the destruction of the Rings, Gil-galad says to Galadriel, “We will discuss the Rings once you have answered the question, Who is this man?”, and begins to describe Sauron and his deception.
Sauron then appears, disguised in a new, golden, shining guise as a fairy of Celebrimbor, and tells Celebrimbor to call him “Sharer of the Geats”, while Sauron sets him on a course to capture the Nine.
Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards), who forged the Three Rings of Power last season, stares at a mysterious figure shimmering in golden light, who turns out to be Sauron disguised as a dwarf, introducing himself as the “Bearer of Gifts.”
The trailer continues with quick shots of Galadriel riding a horse, an orc licking a knife, Arrondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova) shooting arrows, a great eagle descending behind Pharazon (Tristan Gravel), Adar (Sam Hazeldine) leading an orc army, the Stranger (Daniel Wyman) casting magic in the desert and a look at Sauron's dark fortress Barad-dur.
The panel also featured some behind-the-scenes footage. The first focused on the physical creation of the Power Rings, which included concept art by John Howe and meticulous design by computers and 3D printing. The second revealed a full cast of creatures that will appear in season two, including ghosts and wolves.
What we learnedThe audience Q&A included several surprising revelations. One fan asked if Glorfindel, one of the most important elves in Middle-earth’s history, would appear in the show, and Payne confirmed that it would happen at some point during the show’s run. Payne also said that Theo’s biological father “will be revealed at some point in the future.” When a fan asked if the LGBTQ community would see themselves in the show, McKay said, “You’ve probably seen it already.” When a fan asked, “on behalf of the fanfiction community,” if there would be more opportunities for romantic tension between Galadriel and “hot Sauron,” McKay told Vickers that he could confirm that yes, it would happen.
The funniest moment: Discussing the different swords in “Rings of Power,” Cordova said, “I named my sword Rihanna. I wasn't sure if I should say that — but I did.”
More is coming.
