The cast of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” debuted a new trailer for Season 2 of the Prime Video series during their epic panel at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday. The panel included Morfydd Clark (Galadriel), Charlie Vickers (Sauron), Robert Aramayo (Elrond), Benjamin Walker (Gil-galad), Ismael Cruz Córdova (Arondir), Charles Edwards (Celebrimbor), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Miriel), Sophia Nomvete (Disa) and Tyroe Muhafidin (Theo), Daniel Weyman (The Stranger), Megan Richards (Poppy Proudfellow), Lloyd Owen (Elendil), Ema Horvath (Eärien) and Sam Hazeldine (Adar), as well as executive producers and showrunners J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay.
The Footage: The Comic-Con trailer opens with a shot of Vickers as Sauron and focuses on how the titular rings tempt the worlds of elves and dwarves, including Galadriel, who puts on one of the rings despite protests from Elrond. We also see a Balrog, an Ent, a giant spider, and all manner of other creatures.
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“An evil, ancient and powerful has returned,” narrates the dwarf Durin IV (Owain Arthur). A new fellowship of fighters, which includes Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Elrond (Robert Aramyo) prepares to battle an army of orcs marching through a dark forest.
“Sauron sees himself of master of all Middle-earth,” Galadriel says at the top of the trailer. “He seeks to rule it not only through conquest but by bending the minds of all its peoples to his own and for that he needs not armies but rings.”
“In choosing to wear those rings, you have all become his collaborators,” Elrond tells her.
“I know you believe this ring is deceiving me, but I believe it is guiding me,” she responds.
When Elrond demands the rings be destroyed, Gil-galad tells Galadriel, “We will discuss the rings once you have answered the question, ‘Who is this man?,'” and she begins to describe Sauron and his deception.
Sauron then appears disguised in a shining golden new look as an elf to Celebrimbor, telling Celebrimbor to call him “a sharer of gits,” as Sauron sets him on a path to capture The Nine.
Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards), who forged the three rings of power last season, stares upon a mysterious figure basked in a golden light, revealed to be Sauron disguised as an elf, presenting himself as a “bearer of gifts.”
The trailer continues with quick shots of Galadriel riding a horse, an orc licking a knife, Arondir (Ismael Cruz Cordova) firing off arrows, a great eagle landing behind Pharazon (Trystan Gravelle), Adar (Sam Hazeldine) leading the orc army, the Stranger (Daniel Weyman) casting magic in a desert and a look at Sauron’s dark castle Barad-dûr.
The panel also included a few behind the scenes featurettes. The first focused on the physical creation of the rings of power, which involved concept art by John Howe and exacting design by computers and 3D printing. And the second revealed the full menagerie of creatures that will appear in Season 2, including wraiths, wolves, ents and a giant cave troll.
What We Learned: The audience Q&A included several surprising revelations. A fan asked if Glorfindel, one of the most important Elves in the history of Middle-earth, will appear on the show, and Payne confirmed it will happen at some point over the five season run of the show. Payne also said that the biological father of Theo “will be revealed somewhere down the line.” When a fan asked if the LGBTQ community will see themselves in the show, McKay said, “Maybe you have already.” And when a fan asked, “on behalf of the fan fiction community” if there will be more opportunities for the romantic tension between Galadriel and “hot Sauron,” McKay told Vickers he could confirm that yes, that will happen.
Funniest Moment: In a discussion about the different swords in “The Rings of Power,” Córdova said, “I named my sword Rihanna. I wasn’t sure if I should say that —but I did.”
