Sauron has returned. Cast out by Galadriel, without army or ally, the rising Dark Lord must now rely on his own cunning to rebuild his strength and oversee the creation of the Rings of Power, which will allow him to bind all the peoples of Middle-earth to his sinister will. Building on Season One’s epic scope and ambition, the new season plunges even its most beloved and vulnerable characters into a rising tide of darkness, challenging each to find their place in a world that is increasingly on the brink of calamity. Elves and dwarves, orcs and men, wizards and Harfoots… as friendships are strained and kingdoms begin to fracture, the forces of good will struggle ever more valiantly to hold on to what matters to them most of all… each other.
The first S2 teaser dropped in May, with a tantalizing shot of “Hot Elf Sauron” creating Barad-dûr toward the teaser’s end. The new trailer opens with Galadriel’s voiceover telling us that Sauron “sees himself as master of all of Middle-earth. He seeks to rule it not only through conquest but by bending the minds of all its peoples to his own. And for that he needs not armies, but rings.” We see Galadriel putting on one of the rings over Elrond’s strenuous objection. And she’s not the only one. “In choosing to wear those rings, you have all become his collaborators,” Elrond says, insisting the rings must be destroyed.
Galadriel begs to differ, believing her ring is guiding her. The other bearers are reluctant to give up their rings as well, but eventually, they band together to take on Sauron’s forces, and we get some eye-popping footage of the aforementioned mega-battle. Remember: “When the darkness falls, there are always some who rise forth and shine.”
The Rings of Power S2 premieres on August 29, 2024, on Prime Video. You can also check out a featurette below, introducing a host of creatures: Barrow-wights, Hill-trolls, and Sea-worms, as well as Orcs, Ents, and the youthful version of the ravenous giant spider Shelob.
The Rings of Power creature featurette.
