Tears are streaming down Ismael Cruz C\u00f3rdova\u2019s chiseled cheekbones. Somehow, hardly anyone notices. I\u2019m at San Diego Comic-Con, halfway through 96 hours spent shadowing the cast and creators of The Rings of Power, Amazon\u2019s highly anticipated Lord of the Rings prequel series. Tomorrow, franchise superfan Stephen Colbert will debut a trailer for the series to 6,500 screaming attendees, many wearing pointy wizard hats. But tonight, at a private dinner, journalists are getting an early preview of the video in a golden faux forest constructed by Amazon for the occasion.<\/p>
After a day spent among the convention crowd in 80-degree heat, sweaty, sneaker-clad members of the press mingle with actors dressed in cocktail attire: C\u00f3rdova has chosen a sharp suit with a black leather harness pulled tight across his chest. A 16-person choir and 25-piece orchestra\u2014fronted by a violinist decked out in Middle-earth regalia\u2014perform music from the series.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
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11 Rings of Power<\/em> Secrets We Learned From the Cast and Creators<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Spend some time in Middle-earth and you\u2019ll learn a lot of secrets. I shadowed the cast and creators of the much-anticipated Lord of the Rings prequel series, The Rings of Power, for four days at San Diego Comic-Con in July. During my conversations with the showrunners, executive producer, and several members of the cast, I did my best to pick up clues about where the series may be headed\u2014along with details about the immense production behind the epic saga.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
and…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you want to watch the series without knowing anything about what might happen in the show, know that this story contains<\/strong> minor spoilers. <\/strong>Stop reading now. But if you want some background on the series and how Payne and McKay cooked up a story from Tolkien\u2019s notes, forge ahead. I\u2019ve seen two episodes of the show, and the information in this story comes primarily from the appendices.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
[Editor’s note<\/strong>: Having read the article, I don’t consider any of this to be much of a spoiler for anyone who’s been casually following press reports and has a passing knowledge of Middle-earth’s Second Age.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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The Rings of Power Exclusive: Producer Says Fan Theories About Sauron Are Wrong<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Fans have spent months speculating when and how he might appear in the show. They\u2019ve combed the various trailers and publicity shots. Some theorize that fans have already seen his image\u2014or at least his Annatar guise. But executive producer Lindsey Weber told TIME the prevailing fan theories may be on the wrong track.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
[Editor’s note<\/strong>: This is potentially a spoiler, though I think fandom very quickly discarded the Sauron identity theory that Weber discusses with Time. It would have been much more interesting to address the other<\/em> (much more compelling) rumour that’s doing the rounds right now. Unfortunately, they don’t even touch on it.]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"TIME](\"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/TIM220912_LOTR-Cover-Final-768x1024.webp\")
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