Because the streaming wars warmth up, Amazon is betting large on The Lord of the Rings. The corporate is spending tons of of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} on a prequel collection set lengthy earlier than the occasions of the films. This collection, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Energy, might be set within the Second Age of Center-earth, an vital time that actually reshaped the face of the planet.
If you happen to’re not conversant in the in depth backstory behind The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, don’t be concerned. Here is every little thing you’ll want to find out about Center-earth’s Second Age and what it might imply for the plot of the prequel collection. And take a look at the Rings of Energy trailer proper right here:
The Second Age: The Fundamentals
The fantasy universe created by J.R.R. Tolkien is way greater than simply the occasions of The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings. The land of Center-earth is an element of a bigger world known as Arda. Over the course of a number of many years of labor (a lot of which was solely printed posthumously), Tolkien created an in depth historical past of Arda, starting from the creation of the universe all the way in which as much as humanity’s fashionable period. The recorded historical past of Arda is split into 4 Ages, every of which span many tons of or 1000’s of years.
The Second Age is a interval solely briefly glimpsed within the Lord of the Rings motion pictures. This setting spans an extended time period in between the banishment of Morgoth (the unique Darkish Lord) and the primary defeat of his servant Sauron. The Second Age is outlined by key occasions just like the rise and fall of the dominion of Númenor, the creation of the Rings of Energy and the formation of the Final Alliance that briefly saved the world from Sauron’s wrath. That is the setting of Amazon’s Lord of the Rings prequel collection.
The Second Age: Main Occasions
The Second Age begins within the aftermath of a catastrophic battle over mystical jewels often called Silmarils and Morgoth’s banishment from Arda. On this new period, each males and Elves start leaving Center-earth and venturing west. Many Elves retreat to a spot known as the Timeless Lands (the place Frodo and Bilbo are taken to on the finish of Return of the King), whereas a gaggle of males known as the Edain decide on an island known as Númenor. Whereas initially benevolent, the Númenóreans turn into extra warlike because of their jealousy of the elves’ immortality.
The Second Age is the place Sauron begins consolidating his energy and filling the void left by his grasp, Morgoth. Expert at flattery and deceit, Sauron manipulates the Elves into creating the Rings of Energy and giving him the weapons he must dominate Center-earth. The rings are cast by an Elf Lord and grasp jewel-smith named Celebrimbor (a personality who performs a significant position within the 2014 online game Center-earth: Shadow of Mordor and its sequel). Solely too late does Celebrimbor uncover Sauron’s true nature and the actual objective of those highly effective artifacts.
The reign of the Númenóreans culminates with the rise of a king named Ar-Pharazôn. Sauron convinces Ar-Pharazôn to show towards the Valar (mainly Tolkien’s model of angels) and try an invasion of the Timeless Lands, the place the Númenóreans would possibly discover the immortality they so crave. This is without doubt one of the few cases the place Ilúvatar (or the God of Tolkien’s fantasy universe) straight intervenes in mortal affairs. Ilúvatar annihilates Númenor in an act so damaging it transforms Arda from a flat aircraft right into a globe. This act additionally cuts off the Timeless Lands from the remainder of the world, perpetually denying males the prospect at immortality.
Sauron himself is almost destroyed on this assault, however his spirit survives and he quickly begins constructing a brand new military in Mordor. Thankfully, not all males had been destroyed together with Númenor. A gaggle known as the Devoted, led by King Elendil (the distant ancestor of Aragorn), return to Center-earth and create the kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor. Alongside along with his sons, Isildur and Anárion, and the Elven kings Gil-Galad and Elrond, Elendil types the Final Alliance and wages an extended, pricey battle towards Sauron.
Lord of the Rings followers in all probability know what occurs from there. Sauron is defeated however not destroyed, Isildur claims the One Ring and the Second Age makes method for the Third.
The Rings of Energy: Amazon’s Prequel Collection
Even realizing that Amazon’s Lord of the Rings prequel collection is ready within the Second Age would not inform us a fantastic deal in regards to the plot. For one factor, the Second Age lasts for nearly 3500 years. Extra importantly, that is an period of Center-earth historical past that is not very well-defined. Tolkien by no means truly printed any books after finishing the Lord of the Rings trilogy in 1955. Most of what we all know in regards to the Second Age is taken from posthumous works like The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales and the Historical past of Center-earth collection, all of which had been compiled by Tolkien’s son Christopher utilizing unpublished manuscripts and earlier drafts of the LotR trilogy.
Mainly, there is not one set story or a particular solid of characters Amazon can depend on when creating the prequel collection. The sizable solid of the collection contains Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), Elrond (Robert Aramayo), Excessive King Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker), the Harfoots Marigold Brandyfoot (Sara Zwangobani), Elanor ‘Nori’ Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh), Poppy Proudfellow (Megan Richards) and Sadoc Burrows (Sir Lenny Henry), The Stranger (Daniel Weyman), the Dwarves King Durin III (Peter Mullan) and Prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur), Halbrand (Charlie Vickers), Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova), Isildur (Maxim Baldry), Elendil (Lloyd Owen), Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle), Queen Regent Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), Kemen (Leon Wadham), and Eärien (Ema Horvath).
We might even see sure key occasions like the autumn of Númenor or the formation of the Final Alliance play out over the course of a number of seasons, however the collection can even must introduce new plot factors and characters to fill within the blanks and switch the broad strokes of Tolkien’s writing into a whole, cohesive story.
We additionally do not know if the prequel collection will try and chronicle your entire scope of the Second Age or give attention to one, particular battle. Showrunners and govt producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay have hinted the collection could also be taking the primary strategy.
“It is a title that we think about might dwell on the backbone of a e-book subsequent to J.R.R. Tolkien’s different classics,” Payne and McKay stated in a press release. “The Rings of Energy unites all the key tales of Center-earth’s Second Age: the forging of the rings, the rise of the Darkish Lord Sauron, the epic story of Númenor, and the Final Alliance of Elves and Males.”
One risk is that the collection will discover a number of, distinct time intervals. Amazon has reportedly dedicated to 5 seasons and a possible spinoff, so it is potential every season will give attention to a special pivotal occasion from the Second Age.
Early rumors instructed the prequel collection would give attention to a younger Aragorn. Whereas Aragorn wasn’t born till a number of thousand years after the top of the Second Age, these rumors might nonetheless pan out. The collection might use Aragorn’s story as a framing machine, with the king-to-be studying in regards to the historical past of his individuals and the errors made by earlier kings like Ar-Pharazôn and Elendil. This could be a really perfect method of introducing viewers to the advanced historical past of Center-earth whereas giving them a well-known character to latch onto.
The Rings of Energy debuts on Prime Video worldwide on Friday, September 2, and can drop new episodes weekly.
This story was up to date on July 14, 2022, with the most recent details about the present. It was initially printed in August of 2019.
Jesse is a mild-mannered author for IGN. Enable him to lend a machete to your mental thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.
