The newly released teaser trailer for Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power dropped on July 14 and sent ripples of excitement throughout Tolkien fandom, including through the ranks of TORn staff. Here below is a presentation of spur of the moment reactions; there will be another post soon that delves deep into some of the lore being presented in this teaser trailer.
But first, if this two and a half minutes is a ‘Teaser Trailer’ in Amazon’s estimation, we can’t wait to see what they consider a full Trailer! Check out our post from Thursday morning about the teaser trailer; and not to be lost in all the flash and bang from the teaser trailer, take a moment to read the official Amazon Press Release at the bottom of the post, and note that when the show debuts on September 2, it will be an 8-part series. It’s still not clear if the episodes will drop all at once or one episode a week. Hopefully we’ll find out that answer during Amazon’s panel at San Diego Comic-con next week, so keep an eye out for our reports from the panel and exhibit hall floor throughout the week.
Once upon a time, there were two Happy Hobbits who were watching a trailer. They recorded their reaction; and this is what happened next…
That’s TORn’s own Happy Hobbits, reacting to The Desolation of Smaug trailer – and being watched by three lovely elves.
Now we want to see YOUR reactions, to The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power trailer! Tomorrow, Feb 13th, sometime between 5.35 and 5.40pm PT, be ready to watch the first trailer, either during the big game or on Prime Video’s YouTube channel. Record yourself as you watch, and share your reaction videos with us! Tweet them to #LOTRFans – we want to see how the FANS enjoy this first glimpse of a new vision of Tolkien’s world.
Then join us on our YouTube channel and across social media, to chat, analyse and dissect! We’ll be watching for your reaction videos at #LOTRFans, and may share some of them during our live stream. Middle-earth awaits – we’re going (there and) back again! #LOTRTrailer #LOTRFans
EXCLUSIVE: At the beginning of the week, Amazon announced that we will see the first TRAILER for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power TV series tomorrow, Sunday, February 13th – Super Bowl Sunday in the United States. We followed that announcement with the news that TORn is partnering with Prime Video, to host the OFFICIAL Trailer Watch Party live stream.
We are now the first to reveal WHEN you’ll see the Rings of Power trailer.
Prime Video have let us know that it will debut early in the third quarter of the game. That gives us a rough window of time during which it will play. For those of you not watching the Super Bowl, the trailer will be posted on the internet almost immediately as it airs on tv; find it on Prime Video’s youtube channel. Be sure to be watching:
Feb 13th 5.35-5.40pm Los Angeles; 8.35-8.40pm Boston; Feb 14th 1.35-1.40am London; 2.35-2.40pm Wellington
We will go live from 5.15pm PT Sunday 13th; please join us across all social channels, all around the world! We’ll have guests including the Tolkien Professor Corey Olsen; artist Colleen Doran; music expert Doug Adams; and a host of Tolkien influencers and fellow fans! Not to mention TORn staffers who have been around since the First Age…
What must I do?
Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel and have notifications turned on! We want to see all your comments, reactions and thoughts when the trailer drops. So grab a pint of miruvor and a plate of spicy balrog wings, and be ready to tune in! #LOTRTrailer
Meanwhile, check out the characters which have been revealed so far, here and here. Which will we see in the trailer? Even the wisest cannot tell…
EXCLUSIVE: This morning Amazon announced that we will see the first TRAILER for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power TV series this coming Sunday, February 13th – Super Bowl Sunday in the United States. We’re very excited to announce that TORn is partnering with Prime Video, to host the OFFICIAL Trailer Watch Party live stream!
Join us – and a host of guests – on Sunday 13th February to watch the trailer together, and then dissect it frame by frame! An epic analysis befitting of the Second Age of Arda. You’ll be able to find us streaming on all the socials… Stay tuned for more announcements – including specifics of timing – later this week. In the meantime jump into the new TORn Discord at https://discord.gg/theonering to chat with hundreds of other fans leading up to the big trailer… quest… thing.
What must I do?
Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel and have notifications turned on! We want to see all your comments, reactions and thoughts when the trailer drops. #LOTRTrailer
Happy Hobbit is celebrating their reaction video to the Desolation of Smaug trailer going viral on this day seven years ago (6/11/13) by releasing a new video including recently rediscovered footage from the magical day.
Happy Hobbit’s new video
Kellie and Alex, known to fans of their long-running webseries as Kili and Fili, uploaded their reaction video as their means of participating in TheOneRing.net’s staff reactions to the trailer. It was then shared by Peter Jackson’s Facebook page, along with a video of the Elven cast including Evangeline Lily, Orlando Bloom, and Lee Pace (Tauriel, Legolas and Thranduil) reacting to the fan enthusiasm called “Happy Elves.” Happy Hobbit then filmed their overwhelmed reaction to the cast’s reaction. This series of reaction videos was aptly dubbed “Hobbitception” in reference to the dream within a dream sequence of the film Inception. The playlist below includes all of the videos in order.
This whirlwind adventure truly was a dream come true!
“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
Just that happened to my sister and me exactly a year ago, however we never even stepped out our door! One June 11th, 2013, the first The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug trailer hit the internet in the U.S. and since we didn’t have time to write up our responses for TheOneRing.net, we decided to film our reaction to the trailer (watch here).
We never expected more than our 15 “hardcore” fans to watch our reaction video at the time, much less ever thought that PJ and the cast and crew would not only see it, but film their own response (watch Happy Elves)! For two young women who didn’t even know that posting trailer reactions was a “thing,” getting launched into the international news was even more unexpected, but it has been such an amazing unexpected journey. To be rewarded for being our unrestrained, embarrassing selves (see just how so in our reaction to the cast’s reaction here) is a boon to not only our little show, but to our souls.
We are forever grateful to Jackson and his team. As a result, we celebrate the support our Facebook page has received (3k likes!) and that of our YouTube channel (5.5k!) by sharing this video that is a compilation of the “deleted scenes” from our reaction videos that we had cut out at the time. Enjoy!
A year after that fateful night, we are now packing and preparing to leave for Denver Comic Con, not as attendees, but as panel participants. We will have our own Happy Hobbit panel and fan table and are so excited to meet as many of our viewers as possible. This path has led to San Diego Comic Con 2013 where we got to meet Evangeline Lilly and Manu Bennett and to the DOS World Premiere in Hollywood in December where we had a blast chatting with the cast and crew.
People always ask us what it feels like to live a Middle-earth fan’s dream, and the answer is simple: It hasn’t sunk in yet. One year later, it all still feels so blissfully surreal.
We wouldn’t have had this adventure of a lifetime without TheOneRing.net, our viewers, and of course, Peter Jackson, Weta and their team. As Gandalf says in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, “I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.” What was a small act of kindness from Peter Jackson’s team and the cast sent ripples of joy through our lives and by extension, through the lives of the thousands experiencing the adventure alongside us through our videos.
Hannon le.
Happy Hobbit is still going strong and we have many episodes planned for this summer, including our first ever Happy Hobbit movie! While fandom has given us uncountable joys, one of the greatest is building a community with our fellow Tolkien fans and knowing that, even if only for a moment, we have made you smile. I’ve lost track of how many messages we’ve received from people saying that the best cure for a bad mood is to watch Happy Hobbit! Perhaps our fan Ian McDermott summarizes it best:
‘Happy Hobbit’ has become a haven for me, a gentle and caring respite for the jaded, world-weary traveller; a place where good cheer and whimsy rule for no better reason than to bring happiness to others. Hannon le, ladies.
Please note we will also be participating in TORn’s panels at Denver Comic Con throughout the weekend, including the big party Friday night at the Dino hotel (the Best Western Southwest), so keep your eyes peeled for our coverage on Facebook and Twitter! I will also be participating in several writing panels, including one about the making of my book Darkling.
