The time to return to Middle Earth is almost here. WithThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Poweron the horizon, a new video featuring a much younger Elrond of Rivendell has been released by Amazon Prime.WithThe Lord of the Ringsseriesset to take place during the Second Age of Middle Earth (as opposed to the Third Age most fans are familiar with), the prequel will explore the early lives of certain long-lived characters (and will even go into the origin of certain species). Among these characters is Elrond, the elf who eventually becomes Lord of Rivendell and father of Arwen duringthe originalLord of the Rings. Here, Elrond will be played by Robert Aramayo.RELATED:Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 to Feature Fan-Favorite Elven CharacterIn a featurette released on Prime Video’s Twitter, a young Elrond is highlighted. The clip particularly focuses in on Elrond’s friendship with Durin, a dwarf. As the dwarvish and elvish peoples have a long-standing and mutual distrust of one another, the friendship puts Elrond at odds with his duties. As Aramayo says in the clip, “Elrond and Durin’s relationship is very complicated. He finds himself being mingled between friendship and duty.” Despite the disparity between their two peoples, the two seem to forge a close bond, but will it stand the tribulations of the Second Age andthe machinations of Sauron?
The Rings of Powerwill be exploring a familiar world, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be some surprises in store for the audience. The Elves in this story are at their peak, and this includes Elrond. As seen in the clip, however, the Elves will soon begin their long dwindling, and the video ominously chooses to highlight this over a shot of a leaf turning black and blighted. This featurette illustrates the care and thought that’sgoing intoThe Rings of Power.
There’s a sense of respect to the source material in the clip that’s important to fans of the series, but even with that fidelity, there’s the chance for new stories in the world of Middle Earth. The Elrond here is much more optimistic and open than the closed-off, world-weary man who fans come to know during the War of the Ring. He’s not without tragedy, however, as his brother, who embraced his human ancestry rather than his elvish ancestry as Elrond did, grew old and died before Elrond’s eyes, long before this series takes place.
Some fans are wary of a new story being told within Middle-Earth, because the series will not necessarily have as straight-forward a source material to followasThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy did. The series will primarily draw from unfinished stories Tolkien wrote about the Second Age, which are included in books such asThe Silmarillion,an unfinished tome that was completed and edited by J.R.R. Tolkien’s son Christopher Tolkien following the former’s death. It may be worth keeping an open mind, however. If the series succeeds, its possible fans can expect more stories set in Middle Earth. There’s a wealth of ideas to draw on, including stories set in the distant past and the future of the setting.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerwill premiere on July 12, 2025, on Amazon Prime.
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