In an unexpected journey that rivals Bilbo’s own, TheOneRing.net is thrilled to announce the launch of its very own food truck, bringing the flavors of Middle-earth to the world – well, a portion of the world! Aptly named ‘Middle-earth on Wheels’, the plan is for the food truck to visit conventions and geeky gatherings across America, serving a delectable array of Tolkien-themed treats. Our truck will first appear at NYCC 2024.
The Menu
Inspired by the diverse experiences and tastes of our staff, the menu will vary, with various themes planned, including the seasons in the Shire, spicy dishes of Mordor, and the sumptuous feasts of Rivendell, offering an Elvish twist on classic flavors. The menu to appear at NYCC will include a chicken dish “Amon Hen”; “Salmon Frodo“; “Isengard Unquiched,” “One-ion Rings” (Of course!); and a variety of artisanal bread, so fans can ‘share the loaf.’
Barad-dûr croquemboucheArtisanal BreadsAmon HenSalmon FrodoIsengard UnquichedOne-ion Ring
Our very own Happy Hobbits, known for their culinary magic making (Check out their YouTube!), will bake fresh bread for each appearance.
But that’s not all – in a revelation as surprising as Gandalf’s fireworks, we can reveal that TORn co-founder Xoanon is not only a master of Middle-earth lore but also a pastry chef extraordinaire, holding the world record for the tallest croquembouche, eerily resembling Barad-dûr, complete with the Lidless Eye, and almost mirroring the height of Weta’s Minas Tirith bigature.
Special Menus and Events
But what of Second Breakfast, you ask? On select days, Middle-earth on Wheels will honor every crucial Hobbit mealtime—Breakfast, Second Breakfast, Elevenses, Luncheon, Afternoon Tea, Dinner, and Supper—throughout all-day festivals and events. Whether you crave the sweet simplicity of Seedcake for Second Breakfast or the hearty richness of a Minas Tirith Meat Pie for Supper, TORn will have you covered. Dates for these special events will be announced at a later time.
On Tuesdays when Middle-earth on Wheels is on the move, don’t miss Tolkien Taco Tuesday—every purchase of a taco gets you another one on the house!
Why a Food Truck?
Why this culinary quest, you ask? It’s all in an effort to combat the ever-mounting Google Business Apps bill! Yup, they raised their prices…again! As a not-for-profit site powered by volunteer staff, TheOneRing.net relies on the generosity of its community and, perhaps now, the proceeds from its gastronomic ventures.
Don’t miss this chance to feast like a Dwarf, snack like a Hobbit, and dine with the elegance of the Elves. The Middle-earth on Wheels food truck is coming to a location near you. Follow the journey on TheOneRing.net and our social media channels.
Because in the world of Tolkien, even the smallest meal can change the world.
Some secrets are better kept quiet (according to that famous Gandalf quote, the one about anticipating a good meal): “Many folk like to know beforehand what is to be set on the table; but those who have laboured to prepare the feast like to keep their secret; for wonder makes the words of praise louder.” That little gem does not apply here, as TheOneRing.net continues its decades-long quest to separate truth from nonsense behind any Tolkien adaptation coming our way.
For you see–a wild bombshell appeared on 4chan on Jan. 15, 2024, claiming knowledge of fully-detailed plot points and episodes that was quickly regurgitated on our Discord server (now deleted). The contents of this post caused shockwaves on our TORn Discord; as it shocked and dismayed me. But also much of its contents have been corroborated fully by someone close to the Producers who shared more information. Better fasten your seatbelts, dear Ringers, it’s gonna be a bumpy night.
[MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD FOR “TROP” SEASON 2 THROUGHOUT, NO HOLDS BARRED, NOTHING WITHHELD, PROCEED WITH CAUTION]
As the Production Calendar continues apace on Season 2 of Prime Video’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” (rumor has it Season 3’s halfway written!) certain enigmatic details are clearer while other things remain deeply shrouded. It’s like scrying in the Mirror of Galadriel without any guidance.
Nonetheless, it is now being discussed openly that Amazon secretly acquired the rights to “The Silmarillion” for use in this 2nd Season! This is seismic news! It is even more insane to think something so significant has happened and the Studio has said nothing about it at the time of this article’s publication.
Let’s start with the Big Bad Wolf-Maia himself, the “Halbrand of your dreams” (ooof), that guy who would deign to be THE Lord of the Rings:
SAURON / HALBRAND
TROP Director Charlotte Brändström has said in interviews that the 1st Ep. of the new Season will be a “Standalone episode.” We have been reporting for 15 months on our TORn Tuesday Livestream show that this “Season Opener” will dedicate itself entirely to Sauron, his backstory, and his misadventures prior to what we saw mystery-boxed as the Halbrand storyline of Season 1. We may ultimately find out how and why Sauron took the form of that particular human and how he managed to be in the middle of the ocean at exactly the right time to start his lengthy charade with Galadriel. It goes without saying that Season 1 would have been dramatically different if the Showrunners had used the literary device of Dramatic Irony instead of employing this lamentable mystery-boxing approach.
Why was there such trenchant animosity between Adar and Sauron? Newly leaked info says the conflict between them is fueled by a tragic death: Sauron evidently had a SON — and Adar evidently killed him in cold blood prior to the events of Season 1. Nothing close to this appears in Tolkien’s stories.
Further spoilers: in Season 2 Adar (well-played by actor Joseph Mawle, now replaced by Sam Hazeldine) will surrender to Sauron and become one of his generals, only to betray him again later on. Also, at some point Sauron presents himself to the Dwarves and straight up tells them he “apprenticed under Aulë,” at which point he is immediately accepted in their midst.
Season 2 will conclude with this final shot: the forging of the One Ring by Sauron’s hand, leading one to necessarily assume the other Seven and the Nine will be forged at some point by this Season’s end (unless the Showrunners deem it necessary to keep changing the historical order of things).
RIGHTS TO “THE SILMARILLION” ACQUIRED?!
Most significantly, according to verifiable spy reports Prime Video has secretly acquired the rights to “The Silmarillion” — unbeknownst to us. We are hearing that Season 2 opens with a genesis story more fitting the Ainulindalë! After many years of speculation and hundreds of hours of discussion about this very thing, it comes as a deep shock to me (as a Tolkien fan and generally speaking as an observer of Popular Culture) that the Tolkien Estate has, at long last, allowed the gates to finally be opened and nobody has said a word about it! Ladies and gentlemen, could it be true that “The Silmarillion” has now become an officially licensed property for adaptation?! If so, the hugest of caveats must be stated: this is a singular case for now. Perhaps unique.
THE MUSIC OF THE AINUR (quoting from the original post): “The opening scene of Ep. 1 is Eru [Ilúvatar] using the Secret Flame to create Melkor, and Melkor watching as Eru creates all the Valar and the Maiar. Eru is a disembodied voice vaguely human shaped but no characteristics can be made out. The Secret Flame is golden, as are all the Valar and the Maiar. The Valar are larger than the Maiar, but they are bathed in a golden light and completely naked. The actor playing Mairon in this realm is NOT Charlie Vickers or Gavi Singh Chera–it is a third actor. Gave Singh Chera will play Sauron in his battle form and his Annatar form.” We can now fully confirm that a grand total of three actors shall play Sauron in different forms. Additionally, the two actors playing Melkor and Ungoliant in the Ainulindalë shall appear LATER in Season 2 as different incarnations.
I mean — just wow!
Further details are exposed: “A whole episode is dedicated to Sauron’s backstory leading up to the breaking of the First Silence. After the Fourth interruption of the song [Theme], several Maiar meet and discuss Melkor’s discord. Mairon/Sauron alone speaks: ‘The One has blessed me more so than all of you to see the potential of His creations, and what better way to forge their mettle than by allowing them to face Melkor’s discord and grow beyond what they think capable!’ You will see Mithrandir [Olórin] in this scene. Mairon almost converts him. Almost.”
Four Themes? There were only Three, as we all know, so perhaps this is a typo. Or perhaps the most obvious thing that would happen to “The Silmarillion” being adapted is that it would be unnecessarily changed.
Seasoned readers of Tolkien will probably be agape at this ambitious retelling of “The Music of the Ainur” but newcomers who have never read a speck of the original book may be mystified. It seems clear now that the intention of this show is to explore the earliest mythological roots of these immortal characters: a narrative consideration never previously afforded to any Valar / Maiar characters.
This still doesn’t explain the “meteor man” thingy that suddenly brought Gandalf / Olórin / The Stranger into the Second Age, but why quibble?
The further impact of this reality should be weighed carefully, for it represents a point of no return with those tales. The Quenta Silmarillion, the tragedy of Beren and Luthien, the Fall of Gondolin: all of which may now be adapted for T.V. or Film or other media if the Estate allows and arrangements are made. What a tremendous thing. It opens up a whole new era of possibilities.
GALADRIEL & CELEBORN
The fact that Celeborn has been kept offstage in Season 1 as a red herring (you know, that bit about him being supposedly dead yet Galadriel doesn’t know a thing about it) simply does not ring true to Tolkien’s original works. The Professor re-wrote and revised the story of G&C many times, but never do we see a hint leaning towards this in the Appendices, nor in “Unfinished Tales.” Beyond this fumble in the narrative of Season 1, we have now confirmed that our “dearly departed” Celeborn IS INDEED NOT DEAD (as readers of Tolkien already knew) but will show up in Season 2 being impersonated by Sauron.
Indeed, one of Sauron’s disguises to return to Eregion (how many can there be, beyond Annatar?) is the form of Celeborn. We assume this plan is to dupe Elrond, Celebrimbor, and Galadriel at the same time.
More subterfuge! The chicanery at Galadriel’s expense continues apace. This portrayal of the Lady of Light as one who keeps getting duped over and over by Sauron–when Tolkien never once allowed that to happen in his accounts– is certainly a choice, and one that has drawn much criticism. Personally it is one of the first things that comes up in friendly conversation about TROP: I am forced to explain that Galadriel was never fooled like that!
I wonder where they will go with that, ultimately. How long will Galadriel continue to withhold the truth of her Season 1 relationship with Halbrand, and why did the Writers put her in such an untenable position with the other Elves? One assumes it is a ploy wherein Sauron might return and blackmail her if she has not been forthcoming about it. Remember that look Elrond gave her after he saw the parchment of Southland genealogy? “There’s no basement in the Alamo!” And there’s no Halbrand! Some ugly business lies ahead with Celeborn being impersonated by Sauron.
Spy reports indicate the REAL Celeborn will appear in the Season 2 Finale and be reunited with Galadriel. He shall be played by Calam Lynch, as reported by Fellowship of Fans and corroborated by others. Thank God for simple truths–because the lad is a dead ringer for a younger Marton Czokas.
THE FATE OF CELEBRIMBOR
Poor Brimby. Everyone loves Brimby. He’s the avuncular surprise (certainly as portrayed by Charlie Edwards) in Fëanor’s genealogical line of stupendously serious Elves. As fond as we may be of his green-robed gentle nature, we confirm now that in Season 2 Celebrimbor’s head gets lopped off and stuck up on a pike. Womp womp! We are getting closer to what Tolkien wrote here, as this is Brimby’s closest proximity to being the Ned Stark of Middle-earth.
I don’t quite get this episode structure–but it seems the final two episodes of TROP Season 2 will be centered on The War of the Elves and Sauron, wherein Eregion is sacked.
TOM BOMBADIL & GOLDBERRY
This is where stuff gets potentially ugly. I don’t like using such words. As previously mentioned, there will be separate standalone episodes presented throughout Season 2; including Sauron’s backstory uniquely told from his first-person point-of-view. All of this is likely to change before the final edit is broadcast. But if this holds true, Tom Bombadil and his love affair with the River-Daughter will be front-and-center in their own episode (there’s even an episode on Felaróf and the origin of Shadowfax)!
Ringers have often opined that bringing Tom Bombadil into TROP would be super cool — and I have personally championed the notion. But at the heart of this matter is how Tolkien utilized the character in “The Fellowship of the Ring,” an approach for others to heed carefully. Tom should have a cameo or a brief encounter with some of our traveling heroes. Admittedly Tom’s presence is superfluous to the real story of the Great Rings of Power. Now imagine this character’s narrative purpose going a big step further and just wildly breaking from the Lore. In the words of our Spy Report:
“Tom Bombadil and Goldberry are in an episode. They are played by the same actor and actress as Melkor/Morgoth and Ungoliant. The show will confirm the long-held fan theory that Tom and Goldberry are Melkor and Ungoliant serving out their punishment bestowed on them by Mandos.“
Excuse me? There has never been such a “Fan Theory,” not one that I have seen–and if I had heard of this cockamamie idea I would have laughed at the absurdity. To quote the pique and anger of a well-known Tolkien historian who heard this: “This is not a fan theory, this is just Fan Fiction; and it’s really GARBAGE Fan Fiction at that!”
Personally, I would love to see Tom Bombadil show up — if only in the blink of an eye he would be on his merry way. I mean, come on, there is no need to ignore The Professor’s explanation in his “Letters” about Bombadil’s context in his Legendarium. No need to make up stuff about Morgoth and Ungoliant seeking atonement within the Circles of the World.
Pragmatically speaking, adaptations can and will change things from the Lore. This is mostly fine, and expected, within reason. It becomes unreasonable when you play that fast and loose with Tolkien’s original concerns regarding raw story elements. This kind of stuff will, predictably, divide the Fan audience.
… FELARÓF & SHADOWFAX?!
If you were not mystified yet by some of these storytelling choices, TROP Season 2 will have a full episode about the great line of Horses, the Mearas, and how Gandalf “The Stranger” met Shadowfax! Although these characters/animals did not exist in the Second Age, evidently we are getting the story of Felaróf the “Very Valiant,” if not also the story of the father of Eorl, a Man by the name of Léod.
Here we have a wide range of secrets exposed and an earth-shaking reveal about the licensing of “The Silmarillion.”
Strangely, the Studio behind this billion-dollar T.V. show remains stoic and silent; their social accounts barren since last July, not a single bit of marketing nor a press release has been forthcoming. Tellingly, a huge Amazon Prime commercial aired in the U.S. during the Prime Time Emmy Awards broadcast, without any mention of TROP. Not. A. Single. Word. TROP has also been removed from Prime Video’s FYC awards website.
Make of that what you will.
IN CONCLUSION — TOLKIEN BOOKS VS. ADAPTATIONS
As is the reality with a huge T.V. production, there are further moves to be made, pickups to shoot, tons of post production and editing yet to complete. However, these Spy Reports may or MAY NOT be reliable but we have already known (through our own secret channels) about 40% of this stuff before the big leak on January 15, 2024. With enough of this verified we are at least eager to throw the doors wide open and have some robust discussion. Time for Ringer fans everywhere to discuss, make hay, extrapolate, and poke with a stick.
Do you like what you are hearing? Are you excited or dismayed? Are you wondering as I am why there is stone-cold silence from the Studio after such wildly big moves behind closed doors? What will future horizons look like with “The Silmarillion” now that THAT huge epic is on the table? Or is it just some odd bits of “The Silmarillion” they can use here and there? Time will tell.
This series was always gonna be a mixed bag of familiar lore and newly minted ideas, methinks. TROP ostensibly benefits from being a somewhat separate (albeit huge) piece of Second Age story from the books’ Appendices that can be centered around particular characters and events. There is ample room to breathe within the narrative of the Appendices and yet it is wholly unnecessary to wildly diverge from the source material. What J.R.R. Tolkien intended and what the current Tolkien Estate (headed by Simon Tolkien) has allowed for this streaming program is, shall we say, quite divergent from one another.
It is for Ringers, with their undying love for the original books, to decide if Prime Video executed this effort reasonably and within the spirit of Tolkien’s original. It is also apparent they had a 36% completion rate on Season 1. Speaking for myself, the series started off just fine. I quite enjoyed the atmosphere, production design, a thrilling cast of talented actors, and especially the gargantuan score by Bear McCreary. Lots of stuff to admire there. Indeed there are those who will argue for either side, but in this writer’s opinion, these Spy Reports (combined with further research and reveals from inside the Production) betray significant departures from the Lore of Tolkien’s Legendarium and put the show at risk to be rejected rather than embraced by that less-forgiving portion of our fandom.
*EDITOR’S NOTE: Clifford Broadway is one of the earliest writers/contributors to TheOneRing.net from the beginning, authoring material in our “Green Books” academic section and also for numerous publications including DeviantArt and Famous Monsters of Filmland. He co-wrote and produced the award-winning feature documentary “Ringers: Lord of the Fans.”
If you have a Tolkien/Middle-earth inspired poem you’d like to share, then send it to poetry@theonering.net. One poem per person may be submitted each month. Please make sure to proofread your work before sending it in. TheOneRing.net is not responsible for poems posting with spelling or grammatical errors.
It’s been a month since the final episode of Season 1 aired. TheOneRing.net staff have had time to reflect, to go back and binge-watch the whole thing, and to process thoughts.
As we begin the journey to Season 2 (which could be a long one!), here are some of TORn staffers’ reactions to the first season of Prime Video‘s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. As you’ll see, we’re an independent bunch with a wide variety of opinions!
Studio initiative helps the massive production – the biggest budget in TV history – find ways to recycle production-used materials.
A new report from The Guardian on the industry-wide issue of waste uses Amazon’s Rings of Power to comment on sustainability practices. Acknowledging that every Hollywood production has huge waste and debris problems, it’s the epic scale of Lord of the Rings that draws attention since it is the biggest TV production.
According to leaked production memos, “The environmental impact of this industry, and of this show, is enormous… every single person we spoke to is concerned about the environmental impact”. The Rings of Power crew overall cared about the environment – just as fans of JRR Tolkien have for over 80 years, where LOTR and Hobbit include environmental-conscious messaging as part of the core story of Middle-earth.
Fans were elated when Amazon announced Rings of Power would shoot in New Zealand. Not only has the country adopted LOTR as its homeland mythology for tourism, many production people incorporate Tolkien’s environmental concern into their daily life for sustainable island living.
“On the Rings of Power, these massive ice walls and rock wall set pieces – they get smashed into a million pieces. If anyone went and sat outside one of these big productions and saw how many skip bins are going out every day … Truckloads and truckloads and truckloads of polystyrene and timber and all the rest of it, mixed up in plastic … and really just thrown into a hole in the ground.”
Rings of power crew member
Sounds like Season 2 of Rings of Power will have sustainability considered from the start. ““As we figure out what’s going on, we can identify the issues and figure out how things might be done differently moving forward. Next season, we can do things right from the outset,” says an internal memo attained by The Guardian.
All of the water on Rings of Power was recycled to local Fire Department and industrial uses.
The article goes on to say that New Zealand film rebate programs should also tie into sustainable production practices, to get the tax rebates. Amazon had negotiated the largest tax break in NZ country history, but let it forgo when they abruptly moved production for Season 2 to the U.K. Many of the NZ sets were destroyed and trashed due to the corporate-mandated move.
Peter Jackson also shot much of The Hobbit on soundstages using polystyrene trees and forest, using high frame rate 3D cameras and digital sizing between elves and dwarves. Fans didn’t like the “soap opera” look of those films, but the environments were celebrated as much as Rings of Power’s return to Middle-earth.
Theo, played by Tyroe Muhafidin, has joined the list of characters now confirmed as denizens of the Second Age of Middle-earth in Prime Video’s upcoming Rings of Power series. Living with his mother, Bronwyn, in the village of Tirharad, we still know little about Theo’s story or character. We do know, though, that whatever is to come will be entwined with one of the more menacing weapons that Amazon has also revealed: a broken sword and possible family heirloom.
Tyroe Muhafidin as Theo. Credit: Ben Rothstein, Amazon Prime Video
We have seen this sword before, revealed in a series of hands-centric posters that Prime Video released in February. We are still left to speculate about the origin and nature of this broken heirloom – possibly marked by Black Speech – and how Theo and his mother come to possess it. Could this have been crafted by Sauron/Annatar during his seductive stay on Númenor? A remnant of a past migration of Black Númenoreans as they colonized Haradwaith to the south of Gondor? A family heirloom from an absent father, now consumed by a piece of jewelry more powerful than he bargained for?
Credit: Amazon Prime Video
With Theo’s arrival, we are beginning to see some facets of a fuller family in this branch of the storyline that the Rings of Power writers have been crafting. Bronwyn, played by Nazanin Boniadi, is a single mother and village healer, living in apparently rustic conditions with her son well to the south of more familiar Lord of the Rings landscapes. But we know there must be more, even without that broken sword. Bronwyn has a romantic connection with the Sylvan Elf Arondir, played by Ismael Cruz Córdova. (How does Theo feel about that?) And now we also know that Nazanin Boniadi can strike a classic “New Zealand is Middle-earth” pose with the best of our Second Age heroines.
Nazanin Boniadi as Bronwyn. Credit: Ben Rothstein, Amazon Prime Video
And again, we’re left with more questions than answers. Where is Bronwyn headed? Does her regal robe reveal that “village healer” is only a part of her story? Can we get some GPS coordinates for this shooting location? How many cosplay homages will this photo inspire?
Tyroe Muhafidin is a 16-year old Australian actor who has appeared in an array of short films and television series, including Dusk (2018) and Caravan (2019). This will be his first appearance in a major role.
Tyroe Muhafidin
Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerbrings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth’s history. The series will launch on September 2, 2022.
Amazon’s latest book sales chart reveal that J.R.R. Tolkien books now occupy five of the top 20 spots.
The charts for the week of March 27 show the three volumes of The Lord of the Rings in spots #3, #5, and #7, while sales of The Hobbit meant it slotted in at #4. The real surprise, though, is that Tolkien’s posthumously published novel The Silmarillion sold well enough to enter the charts at #12.
Apparently this is the first time that The Silmarillion has reached the top strata of the Amazon sales charts. The result might indicate that Amazon Studios’ Rings of Power series is creating a wider interest in Tolkien’s First Age myths.
