Amazon series The Rings of Power has delivered for many fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings books in portraying characters from the books that were left out of Peter Jackson’s films. A prime example is the primordial figure Tom Bombadil, who plays a key role in The Fellowship of the Ring book as he saves the hobbits from Old Man Willow and The Barrow-wights. Bombadil’s appearance in The Rings of Power Season 2 was to the delight of LOTR superfans who missed him in the movie.
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While Lord of the Rings favorites like Elrond and Galadriel are main characters in ROP, there are still several important characters from LOTR who have yet to appear in The Rings of Power. With Season 3 confirmed and another two seasons expected, here are five LOTR characters who unfortunately might not make it into ROP.
1) Goldberry
The wife of the aforementioned Tom Bombadil, Goldberry is central to Tom’s story. In the books Goldberry the River-daughter greets guests alongside Bomdadil, as she does in The Fellowship of the Ring when she welcomes the hobbits.
Goldberry isn’t completely absent from ROP, her voice leads The Stranger (Gandalf) to Bomdadil’s house where Tom mentors the burgeoning wizard. But given that Goldberry is relegated to a voice and that Tom’s role in ROP seems to have been fulfilled as a teacher for The Stranger, it’s unlikely she will appear in a physical form.
2) Legolas
A member of The Fellowship of the Ring, Legolas is one of the most beloved characters in LOTR. Legolas is the son of Thranduil, the Elvenking of the Woodland Realm (Mirkwood) who sends his son to represent the elves in The Fellowship. The Rings of Power, however, is set in Tolkien’s Second Age. While Thranduil was alive during the Second Age, an exact date for Legolas’ birth isn’t given in the text. While exact dates are debated, most Tolkien scholars have Legolas’ birth early to mid-Third Age. One line of thought places his birth early in the Third Age, while another places it around the year 1,000 of the Third Age after his father Thranduil becomes king.
Either way, Legolas’ birth in the Third Age means he could not appear in The Rings of Power. There has been speculation that Legolas’ father Thranduil will appear in ROP. His most prominent role in the Tolkien universe is in The Hobbit.
3) Saruman
Wizards appearing in Rings of Power is a point of contention from the jump. Tolkien has the Istari (wizards) entering Middle Earth in the early Third Age. But given that it was revealed at the end of Season 2 that The Stranger character is indeed Gandalf, wizards appearing in ROP seems to be an artistic liberty taken by the show’s creators. That said, Saruman could theoretically appear in The Rings of Power. He likely won’t though as the ROP already has two wizards. One is The Stranger (Gandalf). The second is the Dark Wizard, who seems to be a non-canon character but as wizards are not following Tolkien’s timeline in the series, he could be one of the Blue Wizards who Tolkien references as the other two members of the five Istari after Gandalf, Saruman and Radagast the Brown.
There isn’t much information on the Blue Wizards (Alatar and Pallando) in the text, but Tolkien does write that they disappeared into the East. The Dark Wizard in ROP dwells in Rhûn at the eastern end of Middle Earth. While the show never confirms that the Dark Wizard is a Blue Wizard, it would be a cool tie in. But the Dark Wizard is definitely not Saruman, as confirmed by showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, making him an unlikely canidate to appear in ROP — especially with two wizards already in play.
4) Glorfindel
Playing a similar role as Tom Bombadil in LOTR in that he saves the hobbits, this time from the Nazgûl at the Ford of Bruien near Rivendell, Glorfindel also plays an important, if brief, role in The Fellowship of the Ring book. Fans would love to see him in ROP as that role was replaced by Arwen in the film. Tolkien gave Glorfindel much more time in his other writings and his complex story makes him a fascinating character. Tolkien wrote two stories for Glorfindel. One as an elf lord of Gondolin who died in the fall of the city that ended the First Age, notably slaying a Balrog in the process making him one of the only beings to do so. Tolkien then resurrected Glorfindel in the Second Age, bringing hiom back as an even more powerful elf.
But the complexity of his story and his immense power could prevent him from being in ROP. The story complexity may be difficult to integrate into the ROP storyline. His power, could also be a plot killer in that he could solve problems too easily.
5) Celeborn
As husband of ROP’s chief character Galadriel, Celeborn is a character who should appear in the series. In ROP, Galadriel mentions that she “lost” him but his death is never explicitly stated. ROP could bring him back like Tolkien resurrected Glorfindel. But here’s why he might not appear. Over the past two seasons, Galadriel has been portrayed as a lone wolf warrior. Adding her husband might be at odds with her characterization so far.
Although Celeborn is a powerful elf lord in his own right and Galadriel’s equal, even Tolkien gives Galadriel a more prominent role, at least in Lord of the Rings. But given he is a character who should be portrayed, if Celeborn is omitted completely it will likely be another contentious issue for fans — as he is the husband of Galadriel, fits in the timeline and there aren’t any rights issues. However, as many fans have speculated, Celeborn’s inclusion may be the most possible.
Something that may give fans hope that these characters could appear in The Rings of Power is the show’s willingness to take artistic liberties. As noted above, ROP’s throwing out of Tolkien’s timeline with Gandalf, a beloved LOTR favorite like Legolas could appear, maybe as an elf child.
The only real barrier in characters appearing in Rings of Power is rights. Amazon owns the rights to The Lord of the Rings trilogy and its appendices as well as The Hobbit. This means Goldberry, Saruman, Glorfindel and Celeborn could theoretically appear in Rings of Power as they all appear in LOTR. Whether they fit into J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay’s vision is another story.
Which LOTR characters would you like to see in The Rings of Power?
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