Lord Of The Rings: Where Are The Rings Of Power During War Of The Rohirrim?

Warner Bros.' highly anticipated "The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim" officially has a trailer. The anime movie, which releases on December 13th, will be a prequel to Peter Jackson's iconic live-action trilogy. The trailer seamlessly blends footage from those films with the new anime look before fully launching into the story of "War of the Rohirrim," most of which focuses on events in Rohan nearly two centuries before "The Lord of the Rings" takes place. Miranda Otto (who is reprising her role as Éowyn for "War of the Rohirrim") narrates, and we see epic battles, bitter duels, and plenty of palace intrigue.

The final shot, though, is a bit of a mystery. It shows a figure clad in black, with creepy long fingernails, greyish skin, and a grizzly voice. They're standing in the snow holding a ring before they put it in a pouch full of similarly glitzy jewelry. As this happens, the voice says, "What does Mordor want with rings?"

So, what the heck is going on here? Is the line referencing the Rings of Power? Where even are those at this point in Middle-earth history? Who is this person, and why are they talking about rings? We have a few theories.

Let's address who this individual might be first. One thought is that this could be a servant of the Dark Lord who is harvesting rings from the captured, dead, and dying in battle. This would echo a moment in "The Two Towers" book when an orc captain says, right after capturing Frodo from the clutches of Shelob, that his orders are to strip any prisoners and provide a "full description of every article, garment, weapon, letter, ring, or trinket." Earlier in that book, a different group of orcs are ordered not to search their prisoners at all since the Dark Lord wants them unspoiled with all of their belongings. These hints indicate that both, before and during "The Lord of the Rings," Sauron is ordering his captains to pay attention to the little details with their prisoners. One orc in "The Two Towers" book even plays this off as an annoyance, saying of the captured Merry and Pippin: "I heard that one of them has got something, something that's wanted for the war, some Elvish plot or other."

Another option here is that we're looking at a Black Rider. That would explain the voice, and it would also make sense that a Nazgûl is looking for his Master's ruling Ring. However, the Nine aren't really supposed to emerge from Mordor (where they are busily preparing for Sauron's return) until much later than this point.

Regardless of whether it's an orc, a human, or a Ringwraith, one thing is certain: we are going to have some magic rings in "The War of the Rohirrim." Now, technically speaking, these could be other rings of power. In "The Fellowship of the Ring," Gandalf talks about how there are many others in existence, and in that same novel Saruman also refers to himself as a "ring-maker." However, the reference to Mordor heavily implies that the shady character from the trailer is looking for the almighty Rings of Power. So, where are they at this point?

There are twenty of the great Rings of Power. Nine for Mortal Men, Seven for the Dwarf-lords, Three for the Elven-kings, and one to rule them all. We know where these Rings of Power are by the time of "The Lord of the Rings," but what about when "The War of the Rohirrim" takes place, 183 years earlier? 

Part of the answer is easy. For instance, at this point, the three Elven Rings are kept by Elrond, Galadriel, and Gandalf. The Nine Rings are also safely kept by their corrupt human bearers as they function as the eyes and ears of their master. At this time, Sauron is operating as the Necromancer in Mirkwood (the same one we meet in Jackson's "The Hobbit" movies). The One Ring is still tucked away with Gollum down in his cave, waiting for Bilbo to pass by a couple of centuries later. That leaves the Seven Rings for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone. In "The Fellowship of the Ring," Gandalf tells Frodo that by the time of the War of the Ring, Sauron has successfully recovered many of the Rings: "The Nine [Sauron] has gathered to himself; the Seven also, or else they are destroyed. The Three are hidden still."

In other words, by the time "The Lord of the Rings" starts Sauron has gathered not only all nine of the human-borne rings, but also the remnants of the Dwarf rings to himself (the rest are destroyed by dragon fire). That collection process takes time — for instance, we know that he gets one of those Dwarven rings later on in the story. Still, we can safely presume that two hundred years earlier he would have been busy combing the Middle-earth countryside in search of both the One Ring and any other Rings of Power that might turn up.

Of course, all of this is speculation based on a single line of dialogue and a brief glimpse of a purse stuffed with rings. We won't know the full story of the mysterious ring-collecting figure until "The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim" releases on December 13, 2024.