A spy report sent in by a fan confirms, for the first time, that Tolkien’s great antagonist of the Second Age will have the name that fans have been hoping and waiting hear — Annatar.
Annatar arrives for his adaptation debut
The July 2024 issue of EMPIRE Magazine hits newsstands this week featuring an exclusive new interview with Lindsey Weber, Executive Producer of The Rings of Power on Prime Video. Grab a copy (or two!) if you can find one (Ed: you can subscribe online and Mac junkies can also apparently get the article via Apple News.). But let’s not bury the lede: for the first time in official marketing or messaging, Prime Video has let loose the heralded name of Sauron’s alter-ego that has fans on edge of their seats:
Meanwhile, Sauron still has (counts fingers, runs out) 16 more rings to usher into being, not including the One that will in the darkness bind them. It’s taken him eight episodes just to get to three. He needs to get cracking. And that’s certainly what he does in Season 2, adopting a new identity as blond-locked elf Annatar and becoming besties with the worryingly pliant Celebrimbor. (emphasis mine)
Empire Magazine, July 2024
There are a lot of juicy tidbits from Lindsey Weber in this piece so let’s highlight one of the most important storylines for Season 2:
“The relationship between those two characters — and those two actors Charlie Vickers and Charles Edwards — is something we’re so proud of. It is a spectacular performance from both of them and a really compelling story that’s very much at the heart of what we’re doing this season. Sauron wants to control all of Middle-earth, and he knows he needs rings to do it. And he needs the greatest of elven smiths to make those rings.”
Lindsey Weber, EP of TROP
Fans immediately took to twitter after seeing the exclusive reveal during TORN Tuesday this week.
— Berek of Numenor, Isildur’s Horse (@BerekTheHorse) June 5, 2024
“The relationship between those two characters – and those two actors, Charlie and Charles, is something we're so proud of," says Weber. "It is a spectacular performance from both of them and a really compelling story that's very much at the heart of what we're doing this season.… pic.twitter.com/2ODLivxnho
— Rings Of Power Era (@RingsOfPowerEra) June 5, 2024
I’m so excited to have it finally publicly confirmed the Rings of Power will indeed be using the name Annatar for Sauron in season two! 🧝🏼♂️ #TROPspoilers
via Empire Magazine’s upcoming issue, shared early by @theoneringnet
— Tea with Rings of Power ☕️ (@teawithtrop) June 5, 2024
— Ivyy✨ is waiting for TROP s2 (@rukiasbankaii) June 5, 2024
and finally…
Watch the reveal happen at 1:38:30 in the middle of the show, or watch the whole episode which has so much MORE news about The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and other adaptations.
Tolkien art meets with the very latest technology! Spiderwebart and Greg Hildebrandt have been in touch to let us know that the painting ‘The Ring of Galadriel’ (1975) is for sale now, as an NFT. (Purchase would also include the original acrylic paint on board.) This is a rare chance to own a unique and famed piece of Middle-earth art, which also inspired George Lucas. Here’s an official statement about the painting:
The Ring of Galadriel was originally created in 1975 by master fantasy painters Greg and Tim Hildebrandt. First appearing in Ballantine Books’ 1976 Tolkien Calendar as the month of May, the design of this painting was based on classic imagery. The Brothers Hildebrandt derived inspiration from great works such as The Madonna, Botticelli’s Angels, along with Maxfield Parrish’s lighting and statuesque figure style. Researching medieval attire, they chose to use long draped sleeves to add a graceful majesty to our heroine. There is also a nod to the great English Academy artists in the rendering of her hair. Galadriel has an attitude of beauty, power, and strength as she is the Elf Queen who possesses one of the greatest powers in Middle Earth. The purchase of this NFT also entitles the buyer to the original acrylic paint on board 36×36 inches, framed, signed
The Tolkien art of the Brothers Hildebrandt helped establish the genre of fantasy art and made their names world-renowned. After responding to an open call for artists, Tim and Greg Hildebrandt were chosen to create 43 paintings for Ballantine Books’ J.R.R Tolkien calendars over a period of three years in the late ’70s.
During this same time, a young filmmaker by the name of George Lucas was in need of a striking movie poster to help sell his latest film. He had taken notice of the first two Lord of the Rings calendars and sought the brothers out to create a painting that would help sell it. The brothers created what became one of the most recognizable movie posters in cinematic history for the film Star Wars.
Over the years both Greg and Tim have created several iconic pieces for books and movies including work for companies like Marvel, Lucasarts, and Universal. Now an octogenarian, Greg Hildebrandt still sits at his table each day, busy as ever.
