It has been over 20 years since The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring hit theaters, and nearly ten years since The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey was released, and since then, there has been no movies or shows set in J.R.R Tolkien's Middle-Earth since the Hobbit trilogy concluded in 2014.
However, this year, we will finally see a return to The Lord of the Rings universe, with The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Prime Video, set to release later this year.
Given that the series takes place thousands of years before the movies and books don't expect characters from the Fellowship to show up. Well, at least seven of them.
Aragorn and Boromir are both men who have normal human lifespans. Although Aragorn is a descendant of the Númenoreans, he lives a little longer than most (in the books, he dies at age 210). Still, it's a ways to go before either of them is born.
The four hobbits of the Fellowship (Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin) also only live for about a hundred years, so they won't be making an appearance either.
Dwarves, such as Gimli, live for about 250-350 years, so, as with the others, he will not be popping up anywhere in The Rings of Power.
The final two members of the Fellowship—Gandalf the Wizard and Legolas the Elf—are immortal, so while it is unlikely that they will appear, we certainly can't rule anything out as the exact birthdate for both characters isn't known.
Fear not though, as there are a few characters from The Lord of the Rings trilogy that will be appearing in The Rings of Power. Most notably, Elrond and Galadriel the Elves. In the films, they were played by Hugo Weaving and Cate Blanchett, respectively. Actors Robert Aramayo and Morfydd Clark will be taking up the mantle in The Rings of Power.
Maxim Baldry will be playing Isildur, the future human King of Gondor, who, at the final battle of the War of the Last Alliance, cut the One Ring off of Sauron's hand, destroying him. As he and Elrond went to destroy the Ring in Mount Doom, Isildur succumbed to its influence and kept it for himself.
Fans outside of just the films will also see Celebrimbor, played by Charles Edwards, be a supporting character in the series. Per the official canon, Celebrimbor is the elf who helped Sauron forge the Rings of Power. So, basically, Celebrimbor helped the bad guy nearly take over the world.
Not great.
Celebrimbor was a major character in the video games Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor and its sequel Middle Earth: Shadow of War. While it's uncertain how much Celebrimbor will play into this series, it seems as if he will forge all the rings of power by the time The Rings of Power concludes. I mean, it is the name of the show after all!
The Rings of Power will mainly feature a cast of characters created specifically for the show and will be full of humans, elves, dwarves, and the ancestors of Hobbits, known as Harfoots.
Owain Arthur and Sophia Nomvete portray Durin IV and Disa, the prince and princess of the Dwarven city of Khazad-dûm. The bridge of Khazad-dûm is where Gandalf made his famous stand against the Balrog in The Fellowship of the Ring.
Nazanin Boniadi and Charlie Vickers will be the humans of the cast, with Boniadi playing Bronwyn, a healer. Meanwhile, Vickers portrays Halbrand, a "human running from his past whose destiny is entwined with Galadriel's."
Ismael Cruz Córdova will play the Elven warrior who is in love with Bronwyn but finds himself forbidden to act on it for reasons as yet unknown.
Markella Kavenagh, Megan Richards, and Lenny Henry will all appear as "Harfoots," a race of beings who are descendants of Hobbits.
There are dozens of other cast members whose roles have not been announced yet, but we will most likely learn who they are over the coming months or will be revealed when the show premieres.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will premiere on Prime Video on September 2nd, 2022, with episodes releasing weekly.
Amazon bought the television rights to The Lord of the Rings franchise for a staggering $250 million, making a five-season commitment to the show. So, barring something disastrous happening, the show will be airing for many years to come.
