Beautiful New Photos From THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER and Lots of New Details Revealed

A bunch of new photos from Amazon’s highly anticipated fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power have been released thanks to Empire, and some of these images are beautiful. There are also a few cool behind-the-scenes shots to see.

We also have some new details to share with you regarding the series from the creators and the cast of the series. One of the things co-showrunner Patrick McKay points out is how they wanted this show to stand on its own, separate from Peter Jackson’s films. He explained: “We didn’t want to do the TV version of Lord Of The Rings. We wanted to do a story in Middle-earth that deserves its own space on the shelf, alongside the novels and films.”

JD Payne added: “We had to ensure we were bringing something fresh to it and expanding the map. We weren’t interested in a sequel or prequel or a rehash or nostalgia. It had to stand on its own two feet as something that felt faithful — but also its own thing.”

One thing that this series is going to do to attempt that is take audiences to a version of Middle-Earth that they won’t recognize. The series is set in the Second Age of Middle Earth, which is thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings. That age “contains some of the greatest stories from Tolkien’s mythos. It’s the story fans have always wanted to see fleshed out, but until now has only really been told in whispers.” 

Director J.A. Bayona said: “It’s a very interesting time. War has ended, but peace hasn’t settled yet. There are characters who have an intuition that evil is not finished yet. They face a lot of denial. Across all these different worlds, you’re seeing characters deal with the impact of war and their suspicion that there’s more to come.”

It’s explained that Galadria is the heart of the series, but like Middle-Earth, this version of the character is going to be different than the one we know from Jackson’s trilogy. Actress Morfydd Clark explains: "It was like being on a school trip! I got to do swimming, riding, climbing... Galadriel is legendary. Cate Blanchett as Galadriel was legendary. Tolkien himself is legendary! [This version of Galadriel] still has a lot to learn. I had to find that balance between someone who has got an element of the eternal but hasn't yet seen it all. Don't expect the same character that you meet later on."

As for some of the other characters, Robert Aramayo plays a younger version of Elrond who’s a 1,000-or-so years old, and he’s “much more acerbic, with a willingness to step into the unknown.”

Benjamin Walker plays Gil-Galad, “the last High King Of The Ñoldor in later years, slightly less sure on his feet as this less-seasoned Second Age ruler. During wartime, he rose to the occasion, and during peacetime, he is fighting to maintain that peace. Oftentimes that means using people to his advantage, but — in the way we wish that our real-life politicians were — he strives to bring out the best in everyone.”

Lenny Henry plays Sadoc, the leader of a band of Harfoots, who are ancestors to the Hobbits. He’s joined by Markella Kavenagh, who plays Nori, “She’s very inquisitive and resolute. She longs for adventure, and that sometimes makes her a troublemaker, for better or worse.”

When talking about the Harfoots, Henry said: “We’re a nomadic tribe, moving with the weather and the fertility of the crops. We have big caravans on wooden wheels and we’re very good at hiding because humans are much bigger than us and bring trouble. We’re the traditional Tolkien little guy. Traditionally, the little people in this world provide comedy but also get to be incredibly brave. You’re going to see us run the full gamut of emotions and actions in this adventure.”

As for the main villain of the story, Payne shared: “We’re dealing with one of the greatest villains that’s ever been created in Sauron, and one of the central figures in the story is the character of Celebrimbor [Charles Edwards]. He’s an Elven smith who was manipulated into helping create the Rings Of Power. We’re excited to be bringing him to Middle-earth. He’s very mysterious.”

As for the locations in Middle-Earth that the series will take us, it will include the Dwarven kingdom of Moria. In the Second Age, this is the thriving home of Dwarf prince and princess Durin IV and Disa (Sophia Nomvete), rulers of the subterranean realm of Khazad-dûm. “Visually, it’s unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. It’s pretty spectacular.”

We can also expect to see some big epic action! Payne explains: “The show has a lot of action in it — more so than any television or streaming show that we’ve seen. Every episode has set-pieces, creatures, battles and white-knuckle fights to the death.” McKay adds: “But instead of having 10,000 Orcs fighting 10,000 men, what’s it like to have one Orc in your face, in your kitchen? What’s it like trying to kill an Orc when you’ve never killed an Orc before?”

Boyega teases how ambitious the series is, saying, “The Rings Of Power is not television. It’s a new form we’re creating here.” It’s explained that the first season is like an eight-hour movie.

McKay talks about what makes these stories from J.R.R. Tolkien so specail saying: “But part of what makes these stories so special is their optimism and life-affirming humanism.” Payne added: “Lord Of The Rings doesn’t skirt over the darkness. It takes you to the steps of Cirith Ungol and the lair of Shelob, where friends are betraying each other and characters are being dragged into Mordor. It’s a harrowing experience you go through. But in the end, there’s always a star in the sky that says, ‘Keep going.’ We wanted to find that spirit in this series.”

Well, it seems like the creative team has a handle on this series, and I’m stupid excited about watching it! Check out the photos below and let us know what you think!

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power “brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth's history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien's pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness. Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.”

The series is set to premiere on September 2, 2022.