Power players: The Rings of Power in The Lord of the Rings
Particularly on the set of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, not everyone who wanders is lost. Since J.R.R. Tolkien's famed fantasy world will be the setting of a new TV series on Amazon Prime Video, which was first announced in 2017, the project has been estimated to cost a billion dollars and required as much secrecy as Frodo's quest to Mount Doom. Even the cast was kept in the dark; many were unaware of the purpose of their auditions. They didn't really appreciate the scope of the project until they traveled to New Zealand to start filming. Actors were frequently prohibited from leaving the set to visit other shooting locations because of the level of secrecy there. In other words, good luck entering Lindon, the gleaming golden country of the elves, if you didn't have pointed ears. The entrances to Khazad-expansive dûm's caves were also locked to everyone but dwarves.
Even so, a few cast members would occasionally steal a glance in an effort to catch a sight of Middle-earth. Ismael Cruz Córdova, who plays the bow-wielding elf Arondir, confesses, "They were kind of keeping it [hidden], but I managed to sneak onto a lot [of sets]". "I would just take off my helmet, put on a mask, and provide my ID."
Actress Morfydd Clark, who plays Galadriel, continues, "I got warned off quite a lot. I remember roaming through the seaside kingdom of Nmenor, marveling at the market booths and the strong smell of incense. You simply can't resist touching and examining everything. You want to touch it, but others spent hours crafting it that way, therefore you should only look, I had to keep reminding myself. "
After years of mystery, viewers will also have the opportunity to travel to Middle-earth. In an effort to win over devoted followers and present Tolkien's epic setting to a younger audience, The Rings of Power premieres on Prime Video on September 2. The program, which was produced by JD Payne and Patrick McKay, isn't a direct adaptation of an already-published Tolkien book. Instead, it takes place in the Second Age, a time period in Middle-earth history that is covered in the appendices of The Lord of the Rings. The series will explore the villain Sauron's initial ascent to power and the creation of that well-known One Ring. The show takes place thousands of years before hobbits Frodo or Sam were even born.
McKay says, "We are not creating this just because it's a Lord of the Rings sequel and people make sequels now. We wouldn't have devoted four years of our lives—24 hours a day—to this if we didn't think the tale here is worthwhile of being told on such a grand scale.
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What a scale it is, too. Payne and McKay have outlined a five-season story arc for The Rings of Power, which is already presumably the most costly television program ever produced. It's an ambitious project for Amazon, which defeated rivals in 2017 to secure a rumored nine-figure agreement with the Tolkien estate (when EW spoke to the two showrunners in June, they were already investigating locations for season 2). Perhaps it's not surprising that Amazon went to Tolkien given how fiercely Netflix and HBO are competing to fill a Westeros-sized void in the fantasy television market. Why not revisit the great professor, who served as the model for practically all fantasy novels published in the past century, given that fans have been fixated on Middle-earth for decades?
However, pressure comes with prominence, something the showrunners and cast claim to have been acutely aware of.
According to Benjamin Walker, who plays elven king Gil-galad, "I would be concerned about the actor who's carelessly strolling onto the Lord of the Rings stage, knowing the commitment of the audience and the respect that Tolkien deserves." It's an honor for us to be welcomed into this Tolkien family, so the pressure is a positive thing. There's nothing casual about the king of the elves.
Following the agreement between Amazon and the Tolkien estate, the streaming behemoth quickly started seeking proposals for a brand-new program based in Middle-earth. The position of showrunner finally went to Payne and McKay, two writers most known at the time for their uncredited work on the Star Trek franchise (one suggestion was a rumored prequel series centering on a young Aragorn). The two childhood friends have a very short list of credits, but they are also devoted Tolkien fans who impressed Amazon executives with their concept for a five-season epic set in the Second Age.
The two tall, lanky, blond males frequently complete each other's sentences, leading to the joke that they "share a brain." This summer, EW met down with Payne and McKay via Zoom, and was immediately enthralled by their wild excitement as they discussed Nmenórean architecture and occasionally fell into faultless Elvish. However, they are aware that some devoted Tolkien fans would be dubious. They are aware of the gravity and seriousness of their duty since they are fans themselves. According to Payne, this has been one of the largest emotional rollercoasters of their respective lives. It ranks right up there with some of our lives' major personal moments.
These private and professional moments occasionally mix. Walker recalls a previous phone conversation with Payne in which the co-showrunner first suggested that he take on the role of the regal elf leader Gil-galad. Walker remembers, "I could hear some type of loudspeaker noise in the background. I called him and said, "JD, where are you, man? What's going on? "He said, "Oh, I'm in the hospital. We just had a baby.
Payne continues, "We realize what this means to so many people, and we care so much about this, and we want to get it right. This is a job that you know will always be a part of your legacy; it's not something you do to get another job.
Tolkien wrote a lot about the history of Middle-earth, concentrating on the First Age and the Third Age (which served as the backdrop for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, respectively) (which he covers in The Silmarillion). Although the professor outlined the key points—the reappearance of Sauron, the creation of the rings of power, and the rise and fall of Nmenor—the Second Age is significantly more enigmatic, and he also left many things unresolved. McKay and Payne have a long-standing fascination with this historical period and were drawn to its blend of epic, world-ending tale and intimate personal drama. Their intention, according to them, was to approach the program not as creators but as archaeologists, assembling hints and tidbits from Tolkien's writing to help shape the show's plot.
There are 22 regular cast members in The Rings of Power, including elves, dwarves, humans, and harfoots. Some Lord of the Rings figures play key roles in the Second Age, such as Clark's immortal elf Galadriel (represented in the Peter Jackson films by Cate Blanchett) and Robert Aramayo's Elrond (played in the movies by Hugo Weaving). Aragorn's ancestor Isildur (Maxim Baldry), the young Nmenórean sailor who grows up to cut the ring from Sauron's hand, or Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards), the fabled elven craftsman who forges those titular rings of power, are other names from the Rings of Power that Lord of the Rings fans will recognize. Others are brand-new inventions that were developed to assist fill in every nook and cranny of Middle-earth.
According to McKay, Tolkien might have a line or a reference from which an entire character and an arc could emerge. We simply felt like Tolkien had this huge plot of land that we knew had oil in it somewhere, and every time we touched the ground, a geyser would rise up, and that was part of the fun of coming up with this play.
At the start of the series, Middle-earth is experiencing a period of relative calm. Long after the elves and their friends vanquished the wicked Morgoth and his pupil Sauron, the elves now live in Lindon under the authority of the High King Gil-galad (Walker). Leaders like Prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur) and his wife Disa (Sophia Nomvete) are in charge of a flourishing underground civilisation in the dwarven realm of Khazad-dûm, better known as Moria, which is still years away from becoming the abandoned mine where Gandalf will one day confront a balrog. A long way away, people built the opulent island kingdom of Nmenor, which is now ruled by the austere queen regent Mriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson).
However, other people, including Galadriel, worry that a darkness could be returning to Middle-earth. In areas like the Southlands, where humans Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi) and Arondir (Córdova) can feel something weird in the air, the memories of Sauron's cruelty still loom large. A strange, unnamed stranger (Daniel Weyman), who mysteriously appears in the debris of a flaming meteor, encounters two of the halflings (played by Megan Richards and Markella Kavenagh), who are led by the nomadic harfoots, led by Sir Lenny Henry's Sadoc Burrows, and they realize that something is wrong.
We thought this was this big epic that was different enough from other adaptations, but it had enough ties to be a touch recognizable, says McKay. "To do something distinct yet familiar, and ideally massive, epic, and awesome in its own right, has kind of been the watchword from day one," the author said.
Any decent Tolkien fan understands that going with a fellowship is always preferable to going alone if you're embarking on a lengthy and potentially dangerous journey. For the Rings of Power cast's benefit, they bonded quickly with one another. Many of the international cast members have performed on stage or in films before, but few, if any, have taken on a project as significant as The Rings of Power. When the pandemic interrupted production for a few months in 2020, many people who had to leave their friends and families behind in order to move to New Zealand camped out together.
Nazanin Boniadi, who plays Bronwyn, a human healer and single mother, says, "It turned into a community." "We had to rely on each other a lot, and by default, we kind of became each other's support systems. We didn't have anyone else. We were on an island, away from our support systems, in the middle of the pandemic. A lot of people across the world could relate to that in that moment, being separated from loved ones. And if you're going to be stuck anywhere, let it be New Zealand.
Cynthia Addai-Robinson, who reigns over Nmenor as queen regent Mriel, continues, "We had to be there for each other in a way that is different from other on-location occupations." It basically came down to trying to keep your head in the task at hand while maintaining your protective bubble. The first season, when nobody knows who you are or what it is, only comes around once. Future changes will make it different and change the way it feels. Both the setting and the time were really wonderful.
The actor who plays the dwarven princess Disa, Sophia Nomvete, was taken aback by how quickly she and her coworkers developed a close-knit family. Just days after giving birth, the actress received word that she had been cast in the part. When she arrived in New Zealand, her co-stars immediately offered to watch the child so that she and her husband could occasionally go on dates. The English actress says, "It needed a village, because she was reared by everyone and knew everyone. It was fantastic to see people learning how to change diapers. The on-screen rivalry between elves and dwarves evidently doesn't extend to childcare, Aramayo continues with a chuckle, "I can't believe I'm capable of babysitting, but apparently I am."
The performers put themselves into research and planning while on set. For other people, like Aramayo, this entailed studying Tolkien's book and memorization of intricate lore in the same way as Elrond would. I made every effort to understand as much as I could about those tales because, as Aramayo explains of his wise elf character, "He'd be the man who knows everything in our company." I'm obsessed with it right now, down to the smallest of aspects. Every time I read it, I get a very different feeling from it. "
Others acquired fresh abilities. Córdova practiced wushu, kung fu, and capoeira to play an agile elf, while Boniadi took horticulture and perfume classes to get ready for her part as a healer. Along with other dwarven actors, Nomvete learnt how to smith and create weapons. Her on-screen spouse, Owain Arthur, also did. Additionally, Clark and Charlie Vickers, who plays the strange human castaway Halbrand, spent weeks practicing holding their breath for extended periods of time in order to prepare for a challenging underwater sequence.
Each actor had a different difficulty; some had to emulate legendary actors like Blanchett or Weaving. Others had the responsibility of bringing iconic Tolkien characters to the screen for the first time, while several more had to take on completely new creations, according to Clark, who recalls how she used to play dress-up by tying a T-shirt around her head to mimic Blanchett's long, blonde Galadriel hair from the movies.
When EW chatted to many performers via Zoom earlier this summer, they claimed they were startled by how collaborative the set felt. However, McKay and Payne encouraged each cast member to share their own views and suggestions. According to Vickers, "it's almost like guerilla filmmaking." "With the way we're able to work, there are times when it feels like you're in a small independent picture."
Clark adds with a chuckle, "But also, I think a lot of us have never been in anything [produced by a huge] studio." Therefore, we really didn't have anything to compare it to.
The Middle-earth depicted in the show is considerably more varied. The Rings of Power will feature the first on-screen representation of female dwarves as well as numerous actors of color portraying elves, dwarves, harfoots, and other characters. Many of the actors point out that while their casting may mark a milestone, diversity has always been a theme in Tolkien's writing, which frequently depicts characters coming together in the face of difficulty regardless of their varied backgrounds.
Actors like Córdova are able to realize a lifelong desire by taking the lead in The Rings of Power. The Puerto Rican actor recalls dancing around as a toddler while pointing an imagined bow, saying that he had "wanted to be an elf since I was a tiny boy." He explains, "On the other hand, it was something that was a little difficult since there weren't elves that looked like me. That was something I truly dreamed about." I furiously pursued it because it had become a personal but far-off desire before this opportunity presented itself. "
Iranian-born British actress Boniadi clarifies, "This was not stunt casting. "Everyone has been cast because they are the greatest people for those characters, regardless of ethnicity and race, and I find that very powerful. This isn't tokenization, or a lot of the things that we're used to in past roles."
The show aspires to establish a delicate tonal balance, mixing action, adventure, grief, humor, and, of course, friendship, much like Tolkien's writing itself. Payne and McKay claim to have always appreciated Tolkien's narrative sweep, and The Rings of Power strives to follow suit by giving equal screen time to both mighty, mythical rulers and diminutive, seemingly insignificant halflings.
Still, juggling all those plot lines is a difficult task. The Rings of Power may have a five-season plan, but strategies are useless if the first season's eight episodes don't work out. The actors and creative team are aware that in order for the series to succeed when it launches this autumn, it must appeal to both ardent newcomers and Stephen Colbert-level devotees. (The host of The Late Show, a self-described Tolkien enthusiast, conducted the panel for the series at San Diego Comic-Con, cheerfully correcting audience members on how to pronounce Eärendil and reciting passages from "The Fall of Gil-galad" from memory.)
Addai-Robinson explains, "We're attempting to set up and introduce [this age]." It's a great effort to please both of those audiences when we're dealing with both knowledgeable readers and readers who are unfamiliar with these settings and these stories.
The cast and creative team nevertheless hope that their depiction of Middle Earth will be as magical to viewers as it was to them. When the two-and-a-half-minute Comic-Con trailer for the movie concluded, numerous cast members had tears dripping on their cheeks, according to EW, who was there when several cast members got to see it for the first time.
Córdova explains, "I'm really eager to watch it, but at this point it's more than a show. We went in as certain types of people, and we left as completely different humans. Or elves, harefoots, and dwarfs. "I think I speak for everyone in that we went in as certain types of people, and we left as completely different humans."
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