At last, we have a full length trailer for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Though Prime Video are still referring to this as a ‘teaser trailer’, the new footage runs 2 minutes 30 seconds long. And it is packed with good stuff, to pore over and to wonder about. Take a look:
So what do we see?
The trailer opens panning over stone profile, carved in rock. (This is a very strange profile, with a big nose and a bulky eyebrow – who is this supposed to be?) As we sweep over the carving, we see beyond a ship sailing between the cliffs, heading towards as city. This is presumably the Numenorean city with have seen before – perhaps Andúnië, as it’s a port and the home of Elendil. (See the EW article which came out yesterday, which sheds a LOT of light on all the glimpses of Numenor we see in this trailer.)
VO (Galadriel) ‘There was a time when the world was so young…’
A shot of Galadriel raising her eyes – it’s Morfydd Clark, of course, but this is a VERY Cate Blanchett moment. And as we see this, we hear a rising musical phrase which is definitely from Howard Shore (Rivendell theme).
VO (cont) ‘…there had not yet been a sunrise…’
Here’s the first teaser image we saw, with our short haired elf (Finrod?) walking up the hill – beyond we see a city (Tirion?) and in the distance, the two trees Laurelin and Telperion.
VO (cont) ‘But even then, there was light.’
Prime Video logo on black screen
Some beings – elves, possibly? they seem to be cloaked – seen from above, running across a landscape. (Looks like they are crossing one of New Zealand’s many braided rivers.)
SINGER ‘Come to me come to me…’
Elves in silver cloaks (the same from previous shot, maybe, now on a different part of their journey?) are seen crossing a snowy mountain top. As the camera sweeps beyond them, to the sky beyond, we see a bird flying. Looks BIG – eagle sized – but looks like a seagull. (But maybe that’s just me seeing things…)
SINGER ‘…land far away…’
The camera pans over and around our golden elvish realm – presumably Lindon?
VO from a Harfoot (‘country’ accent) ‘Elves have forests to protect…’
We are treated to an incredible shot inside Moria; what a stunning citadel!
VO (cont) ‘…dwarves their mines…’
Pan over men harvesting with scythes – looks like the south country we have seen before, where the healer Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi) dwells.
VO (cont) ‘…men their fields of grain…’
Pan over what appears to be stalks of corn in a field; but it turns out to be headdresses worn by Harfoots. One turns in profile and puts a small musical pipe to her (his?) lips.
VO (cont) ‘But we Harfoots have each other…’
We see Harfoots amongst trees, dancing – some kind of ancient ritual. These are clearly nomadic, ancient ancestors of Hobbits, reflecting past pagan customs of Britain.
SINGER: ‘For I must now wander, this wandering day…’
Now we see the speaker of the VO – it appears to be Marigold Brandyfoot (Sara Zwangobani), who says, with a shrug, ‘We’re safe.’ [DRAMATIC IRONY!!]
Harfoot Nori watches meteor streak overhead and crash beyond the trees. Music becomes more urgent.
Text on screen: ‘Based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien’
Sweeping shot round waterfall on ice cliff – we’ve seen this ice cliff being scaled by Galadriel in previous teaser.
VO (Elrond): ‘You have fought long enough Galadriel…’
Galadriel is seen looking at another male elf, on the snowy mountain top. She does not look impressed; she slams her sword into the ice.
VO (cont): ‘Put up your sword…’
We see Elrond speaking urgently to Galadriel. Again, she doesn’t look impressed. Cut to elves fighting through the snow storm, bearing torches.
VO (Galadriel): ‘The Enemy is still out there…’
We see Galadriel talking to Elrond – ‘…the question now is where?’
Elves in an ice cave – in the foreground we see a hand on the rock of something watching them. Is this John Howe’s snow troll?
Camera pans over a city far below. Is this another settlement of Numenor? I’m not sure we’ve seen this place before… Possibly Romenna?
Elrond and Galadriel’s conversation goes on – E: ‘It is over.’ G:‘You have not seen what I have seen.’ E: ‘I have seen my share.’
Galadriel’s words become VO: ‘You have not seen…’
We see Galadriel in some fiery place – with bodies seemingly floating in fiery air (or are they under water?). It looks like some kind of purgatory. She looks seriously beaten up, and covered in ash. Is there a fiery body in the middle? Could this be Morgoth? Are we seeing the ‘tempest of fire’ at the end of War of Wrath?
VO (cont).‘…what I have seen’ – cut to Galadriel looking urgently at Elrond.
Text on screen: THIS SEPTEMBER (Music becomes more urgent again.)
Sweeping shots of our ship from the opening of this teaser, sailing into Numenor (poss Andúnië). (Maybe all these Numenorean city views are just the same city from different viewpoints…?)
Text on screen: THE LEGEND BEGINS
Lindon, with Gil-Galad and Elrond. Gil-galad says, ‘Darkness will march over the face of the earth…’
Overhead shot of orcs with flaming torches, marching along a bridge (looks like the march out of Minas Morgul in RotK).
VO (Gil-galad): ‘It will be the end not just of our people…’
Sweeping shot of seabirds circling over a ship.
Galadril in profile, in a pale shift dress, golden light – she looks up to her left. She appears to be on the ship, looking up at the birds, maybe?
Miriel of Numenor is seen walking through the city, and also looking up; something (ash?) seems to be falling on the city. Behind her, we see a solider with the golden sun which seems to be the emblem of Numenor – again, see the EW article. (Is this to indicate the descent of Numenor’s Kings from Finwe or Fingolfin? Amongst the heraldic devices Tolkien sketched, theirs are the closest to this sun image.)
VO (cont) ‘…but all peoples.’
Harfoots are seen, also staring up. This is the arrival of The Stranger (aka Meteor Man) – it clearly is not meant to be a good thing. Nori and her friend Poppy gape open-mouthed – fire sparks dance around them. We see a hazy Stranger – he appears to be controlling or manipulating the fire.
Elrond is seen being lead into Khazad-dum by dwarf guards. He stares around him at this incredible metropolis.
King Durin [first glimpse of him] is seen, saying, ‘I am sorry, but their time has come.’
We see Prince Durin cracking the stone – this is footage we have seen in the previous teaser.
Ice falling from that wall of ice the male elf is climbing.
Halbrand appears to be in some kind of throne room.
VO – leading to a shot where we see it is Arondir speaking: ‘The past is with us all.’
Arondir seems to be in an inn or something? (There is maybe a slaughtered pig hanging behind him?) He is looking quizzically at someone.
Charging horsemen – from Numenor.
VO (new voice): ‘The past is dead.’
Harfoots Nori and Poppy hugging.
Galadriel on raft in stormy ocean. She appears to be swept overboard.
Isildur on board ship.
VO (cont): ‘We either move forward…’
Two horses with riders – EW’s article reveals this is Galadriel and Elendil on Numenor’s coastline. They are racing over a beach towards a city (which looks like Mont St Michel in France – a Minas Tirith ancestor?). Close up on blue swirling robes of Galadriel.
VO (cont): ‘…or we die with it.’
Now we see the speaker – it is Elendil (Lloyd Owen). If he is in the same shot as where we saw Arondir earlier, there appears to be a third, seated, person to his right.
Crowd of Numenoreans are seen cheering someone who has raised arms. Switch POV – we see a bearded man in front of great doors to some kind of citadel, being acclaimed by the crowd. This is Pharazon (Trystan Gravelle).
Horseman with spear, galloping – he looks rustic and like a ranger compared with the men we just saw. (Is this Halbrand again?)
Prince Durin offering a gem to someone; he says, ‘This could be the beginning of a new era.’
Elves in armour drawing swords in Lindon.
Arondir is in some kind of pit, chained by the ankle. He leaps and spins – it’s a Legolas type stunt – and appears to be battling some kind of warg. Looks like a dead body (or at least someone unconcious) in the pit with him.
Snow troll attacking Galadriel and her crew in the ice cave.
Hand of The Stranger on rocks around him. Rocks and fire swirl in towards him – and for a fraction of a moment appear to make the shape of the Lidless Eye, before they disappear. Big clue as to who The Stranger might be…?
Feet of a Harfoot walk into shot on grass – this is Sadoc Burrows (Sir Lenny Henry). He carries a walking staff. Followed by Nori, Poppy, and other rustic Harfoots.
SINGER: ‘Away I must wander this wandering day…’
Text on Screen: THE LORD OF THE RINGS THE RINGS OF POWER [as logo]; New series Sept 2
Prime Video logo appears on blue background as music sweeps to a very drum-filled, Game of Thrones reminiscent crescendo and finale. END.
You can expect more discussion and speculation on this trailer soon, from TORn staff. Meanwhile, here’s what Prime Video say, in their official press release:
“THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER
NEW TEASER TRAILER RELEASED
THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED EIGHT-PART SERIES WILL PREMIERE ON PRIME VIDEO ON 2 SEPTEMBER 2022
CULVER CITY, California—July 14, 2022—A second teaser trailer for the highly anticipated The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power television series from Amazon Studios was released today. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is an epic and ambitious telling of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fabled Second Age of Middle-earth and launches globally on Prime Video on September 2, 2022.
The new two-minute, 30-second teaser trailer delves even deeper into this series adaptation, giving fans the first ever look at some of Tolkien’s legendary characters from the island kingdom of Númenor, that until this new series have never been seen on screen. The characters are Isildur (Maxim Baldry), Elendil (Lloyd Owen), Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle), and Queen Regent Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson). Additional Númenóreans also recently announced are Kemen (Leon Wadham) and Eärien (Ema Horvath).
The teaser trailer also highlights some of the realms viewers will visit over the course of the eight-part series, including the Elven realms of Lindon and Eregion, the Dwarven realm Khazad-dûm, the Southlands, the Northernmost Wastes, the Sundering Seas, and the island kingdom of Númenór.
Also featured are key cast members Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), Elrond (Robert Aramayo), High 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), and Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova).
The multi-season drama will launch on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide on Friday, September 2, with new episodes available weekly.
About The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth’s history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and one of the greatest villains that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness. Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared reemergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the farthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.
The series is led by showrunners and executive producers J.D. Payne & Patrick McKay and stars a celebrated cast led by Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Maxim Baldry, Nazanin Boniadi, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Charles Edwards, Trystan Gravelle, Sir Lenny Henry, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Lloyd Owen, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, Leon Wadham, Benjamin Walker, Daniel Weyman, and Sara Zwangobani.
Joining Payne & McKay are executive producers Lindsey Weber, Callum Greene, J.A. Bayona, Belén Atienza, Justin Doble, Jason Cahill, Gennifer Hutchison, Bruce Richmond, and Sharon Tal Yguado, as well as producers Ron Ames and Christopher Newman. Wayne Che Yip is co-executive producer and directs, along with J.A. Bayona and Charlotte Brändström.
The first teaser trailer premiered during Super Bowl LVI, in what became the most-watched Super Bowl trailer of all time, with 257 million online views in the first 24 hours of release.”
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