Fantasy fans were thrown deep into JRR Tolkien’s Second Age on the second day of San Diego Comic-Con, as they were treated to several exclusive glimpses of the upcoming Lord Of The Rings series.
Thousands crammed into the famous Hall H for a panel with the showrunners and cast of the Amazon fantasy show, which is scheduled for release on the streaming platform on September 2.
The series, set thousands of years before the events of the world-renowned The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings books, tells of events leading up to the forging of the famous rings.
The Comic-Con event was hosted by US TV talk host, and self-confessed LOTR mega-fan, Stephen Colbert.
Discover the legend that forged the rings. Like this tweet to get reminders when a new episode airs. September 2 on Prime Video. #TheRingsOfPower pic.twitter.com/XWiDMZTpMN
— The Lord of the Rings on Prime (@LOTRonPrime) July 22, 2022
A panoramic screen, stretching along three walls of the vast space, with reverberating bass, showed a teaser of the show at the top of the event.
As well as a new official trailer for the series, which debuted for the first time at the event, attendees were also shown other snippets showing dwarves, elves, the realm of men, and hobbit-like creatures.
“We thought the war, at last, was ended,” a voice is heard to say in the trailer.
“We thought our joys would be unending, we thought our light would never dim.”
But a darkness rises as elvish queen Galadriel, played by Morfydd Clark, places her hand on a globe and carnage ensues with almighty battle scenes.
“Together we can survive this,” adds the voiceover, “Fight with me. Each of us must decide who we shall be.”
Flames and destruction appear again and again as glimpses of the unfolding action are shown.
Other clips showed during the panel, featured a stone-breaking contest between Elrond, played by Robert Aramayo, and dwarf-lord Durin, played by Owain Arthur.
Arthur said there had been “similarities and connections” to his Welsh home town and that it had been a challenge to wear prosthetics for the first time in a role.
Sophia Nomvete, who plays Disa – the first female dwarf to be depicted – added that it had been an “honour” to take on the part.
Other clips showed harfoot friends Poppy Proudfoot and Nori examining a fiery crater, meeting a mysterious figure known as The Stranger, and a meeting between Elrond and Galadriel.
Clark said landing the part of the ethereal elvish queen was “beyond my wildest dreams”.
“I grew up reading the books, I was 11 when the films came out,” she told the panel.
“These books have been part of my family’s jokes and life, we’ve had conversations about her and now it’s my job.”
Audiences in Hall H were also treated to a live orchestral performance of music from the show, conducted by series composer Bear McCreary.
Other panels on Friday include The Walking Dead and Marvel Animation.
Horror fans were treated to glimpses of the final set of episodes for long-running zombie series The Walking Dead as well as a trailer for upcoming spin-off series Tales Of The Walking Dead.
Tales Of The Walking Dead will be an anthology series featuring six self-contained episodes that will explore gaps in the flagship show and other spin-offs.
Famous faces set to appear in the series include Terry Crews, Danny Ramirez, and Samantha Morton, all of who appeared on stage at the convention, among others.
HBO’s The House Of The Dragon will take centre stage on Saturday, alongside a Warner Bros showcase and Marvel “mega-panel”.
Pop culture fans have continued to flow throughout the exhibition halls as the world-famous convention returned in person for the first time in two years, after being forced online due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Fans said Comic-Con had been “dearly missed” as they arrived dressed in elaborate costumes that they had put “a lot of hours and a lot of sweat” into creating
Thousands more queued for hours in the sun for the event which saw strict protocols enforced, including Covid wristbands, vaccine checks and mandatory face masks.