The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is finally returning.
The good folks at Amazon Prime Video had their inaugural upfront today (a presentation to get advertisers to buy spots in advance, aka “up front”).
In case you hadn’t noticed (I’m sure you have), Prime now runs ads before shows and movies.
From Deadline.com:
“Today is all about how we’re bringing together the vast reach of Prime Video with ad tech that leverages Amazon’s billions of customer signals,” [senior Amazon exec Paul] Kotas said. The company’s reach spans the “very top of the funnel to the very bottom for all brands. … We’ve been working toward this moment for years, which is why being on this stage means so much.”
Chief among the offerings at Pier 36 in New York City was a new teaser trailer, key art and info on Season 2 of the LOTR: The Rings of Power (for short) which launched in the fall of 2022.
Get your Elf ears and Hobbit second breakfasts ready for Thursday, Aug. 29.
Here’s the Rings of Power News
From Amazon today:
Attendees at Amazon’s inaugural upfront presentation this morning in New York City were transported back to Middle-earth as Prime Video unveiled a first look at the upcoming second season of the hit series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The series’ first season was an unprecedented global success and one of the top original series for Prime Video, viewed by more than 100 million people worldwide, and driving more Prime sign-ups worldwide during its launch window than any other previous content to date.
Prime Video also announced that Season Two will debut globally on Thursday, August 29, 2024, in more than 240 countries and territories in multiple languages.
…
The debut teaser trailer takes viewers on an action-packed journey back to J.R.R. Tolkien’s Second Age, and shows the ascending evil presence of Sauron as he continues his vengeful quest for complete power. Showcasing the cinematic splendor that the series is known for, and heralding the return of many fan favorite characters, including Galadriel, Elrond, Prince Durin IV, Arondir, and Celebrimbor, this first-look also reveals the much-anticipated creation of more Rings.
In Season Two of The Rings of Power, Sauron has returned. Cast out by Galadriel, without army or ally, the rising Dark Lord must now rely on his own cunning to rebuild his strength and oversee the creation of the Rings of Power, which will allow him to bind all the peoples of Middle-earth to his sinister will. Building on Season One’s epic scope and ambition, the new season plunges even its most beloved and vulnerable characters into a rising tide of darkness, challenging each to find their place in a world that is increasingly on the brink of calamity. Elves and dwarves, orcs and men, wizards and Harfoots… as friendships are strained and kingdoms begin to fracture, the forces of good will struggle ever more valiantly to hold on to what matters to them most of all… each other.
The Elves (and Harfoots, Humans, Dwarves, etc.) Are Back — and I Have Thoughts
Season 1 of LOTR:TROP (for even shorter) was certainly no Clarkson’s Farm — my favorite Amazon original series — but it did plenty well enough to justify the return of the lavishly produced, lengthily titled series, inspired by the classic novels of Catholic author J.R.R. Tolkien.
On a personal note, here’s to hoping that the annoying and excessive “you go, girl”-ness of Season 1’s Galadriel, Warrior Princess (which I discussed here) is toned down a bit.
The ethereal Elf of the movies doesn’t need to be Amazon’s answer to the Mother of Dragons.
Also, there’s this, as I said before here:
Making an immortal elf your main character is bad enough. How would she have enough flaws and quirks to make her relatable to ordinary mortal viewers? But if you give her all those flaws and quirks, then she doesn’t seem much like an immortal elf.
It’s tricky to pull off, even for very experienced showrunners (which this show doesn’t really have).
More Wishes for Season 2 of The Rings of Power
Also, hoping that the structural issues that plagued Season 1 — which I discuss in detail here, among other things — have been addressed.
To quote myself:
As I said up top, they seem to think that a TV series is merely a very long movie, cut into one-hour segments. It is not.
That’s especially true when you’re not dropping the whole series to be binged in a weekend, but instead rolling it out one episode a week.
Season one of LOTR:ROP was a selection of parallel but unconnected storylines, running on for hour after hour, before finally intersecting (or at least, some of them did), essentially in the last two hours — provided people stuck around that long and didn’t just flip channels.
But, as I said in the linked post, there were even references to an actual higher power, which is more overt religious content than Tolkien provided. His saga is seen as a Catholic allegory, but it’s very subliminal (I had to have it explained to me, and even then …).
Without Further Ado, Take a look …
The trailer:
And, a look behind the scenes:
When the first season of anything was outstanding, succeeding in the sophomore year is an iffy proposition. In the case of LOTR:TROP, the show looked amazing and had promising elements but also a lot of problems.
From what I’ve been told, the producers heard the critiques loud and clear, so we’ll see if they’ve course-corrected.
So, excited?
Image: Charlie Vickers as Sauron in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power/Prime Video
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