Amazon shows first teaser of The Lord of the Rings TV series The Rings of Power

Amazon Studios has released the first images for the upcoming TV series The Rings of Power, based on the stories of writer JRR Tolkien. Fans of The Lord of the Rings will recognize familiar characters and places from Middle-earth history.

The teaser opens in a harbor town that resembles the kingdom of Númenor, then reveals a young girl whom Vanity Fair considers to be a brute, one of the three original hobbit species in Tolkien’s world. The bridegroom is played by Markella Kavenagh. The main characters in the teaser also include Galadriel, played by Morfydd Clark, the elf Arondir, played by Ismael Cruz Córdova, Aragorn’s ancestor Isildur, played by Maxim Baldry, and a young Elrond, played by Robert Aramayo.

The prequel to the Lord of the Rings series is set thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit and the original trilogy. The Rings of Power was not written by JRR Tolkien, but is largely based on the history of Middle-earth that Tolkien wrote and which was collected in the book The Silmarillion. In particular, the stories Akkallabêth and On the Rings of Power and the Third Era seem well represented.

Writers JD Payne and Patrick McKay recently said in Variety: “The Rings of Power brings together all the major stories of the ‘Second Age’ of Middle-earth: the forging of the rings, the rise of Sauron, the epic tale of Númenor and the last alliance of elves and humans.”

The Rings of Power will be available on Prime Video starting September 2, 2022 in the 240 countries and territories where the service is available. There will be an episode every week, and Amazon plans to make five seasons, according to Variety. It has not yet been announced how many episodes the first season will contain. The series cost Amazon $1 billion to make.