Will The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power Have Hobbits?

Amazon's eagerly anticipated, bank-account-clearing prequel series to "The Lord of the Rings" has finally shown more preciousss images courtesy of Vanity Fair. Along with those tantalizing glimpses comes all-new insights into what we can expect for the epic story in the Second Age of Middle-earth.  

"The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" is set long before the One Ring was picked up by one of the most unlikely creatures imaginable, and instead focuses on a jewelry cabinet full of other powerful trinkets. The titular rings are gifted to the rulers of elves, dwarves, and men as part of Sauron's scheme for total domination. In this story that sets up the epic world-changing events that lead to Hobbits saving Middle-earth, it's worth wondering whether the fantasy world's most famous diminutive residents will even factor into this new tale. 

Given that Sauron hasn't cast his fiery eye just yet on the halflings, are there going to be any in Amazon's upcoming adventure series? Thankfully, showrunners Patrick McKay and JD Payne have cleared that issue right up.

Though they're keeping details as close to the vest as best they can, McKay and Payne did express the conflicting issue they had with the show having a lack of hairy feet running around in their own Middle Earth. "One of the very specific things the texts say is that hobbits never did anything historic or noteworthy before the Third Age," McKay explained before revealing just what kind of extra notes are going to be added to the show. "But really, does it feel like Middle-earth if you don't have hobbits or something like hobbits in it?"

The creatures in question that McKay is referring to are harfoots — they are the ancestors to the pointy-eared, pipe-smoking sort we know and want to have second breakfast with. Megan Richards and Markella Kavenagh will be playing two members of this race in question, with the latter coincidentally having no relation to the same Megan Edwards that played Mrs. Proudfoot, wife to Mr. Proudfoot, in Peter Jackson's "The Fellowship of the Ring."

Much like the Hobbit heroes we're familiar with, though, Edwards and Kavenagh's alter-egos will play a part in the coming events when they cross paths with a stranger in this foreign fantasy land. We can only wait and see how that and a host of other epic elements involved in "Rings of Power" unfolds when the series arrives September 2 on Amazon Prime Video.