Here's What Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power Will Be About

When news arrived in 2017 that Amazon had bought the rights to make a "Lord of the Rings" TV series with a five-season commitment, fantasy fans had no idea of what to expect from the new project. There was plenty of speculation that it would adapt J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Silmarillion" — a collection of other stories set in Middle-earth — but Amazon has kept the specific details about the series under wraps for quite some time. The studio eventually confirmed it was a prequel to the main "Lord of the Rings" story when the show's Twitter account revealed maps that exist in the Second Age of Middle-earth, 2000 years before the hobbits journey to Mordor.

The sprawling cast for the show was confirmed back in 2021, with "Saint Maud" star Morfydd Clark playing a younger version of Galadriel — the royal elf played by Cate Blanchett in Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Joining Morfydd is "Game of Thrones" star Robert Aramayo as Elrond, Owain Arthur as Prince Durin IV, and Nazanin Boniadi as Bronwyn. It's a tantalizing project because most of its cast are relatively unknown compared to the stars in the cinematic adaptations of Tolkien's work.

Now, in 2022, and we finally know what "The Rings of Power" will be about.

Vanity Fair recently revealed an extensive first look at the "Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" — showing off a number of intriguing images of the cast, including Morfydd Clark wearing battle armor as a young Galadriel. The first images justify why Amazon has given showrunners J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay an eye-watering budget to execute their vision for Middle-earth. When speaking to Vanity Fair, McKay revealed what Tolkien fans can expect from the series — explaining that it's about "The forging of the rings," before confirming it follows the "Rings for the elves, rings for dwarves, rings for men, and then the one ring Sauron used to deceive them all."

"Lord of the Rings" fans will know that those rings were created by Elves, with help from Sauron, in the Second Age, and the series will examine that in closer detail. McKay explained "It's the story of the creation of all those powers, where they came from, and what they did to each of those races." 

We know what happened to the ones wearing the rings, as they transform into the terrifying Ringwraiths. However, because of the rich mythology Tolkien created, the writers were faced with a difficult task of carving out a new story. McKay explained that they aimed to tell a story that would fit in alongside Tolkien's work, saying "Can we come up with the novel Tolkien never wrote and do it as the mega-event series that could only happen now?" 

Thankfully, "Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" starts streaming on September 2, 2022 — so there's only a few months to go until audiences return to Middle-earth.