Comic-Con 2024: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Panel Recap

Since its premiere in 2022, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has expanded the mythos of J.R.R. Tolkien in some amazing and unexpected ways. On Friday, the Prime Video series returned to Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con to preview the upcoming second season, debuting both a new trailer and some exclusive footage as well. Here’s what you need to know about The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 panel!

Bear McCreary leads a performance of Sauron’s theme. A new teaser plays, teasing Sauron’s rise of power and the rings being formed. Charlie Vickers, Morfydd, and Benjamin Walker are all introduced, with Yvette Nicole Brown moderating. A new trailer plays. The rest of the cast and showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay are brought out onstage. The showrunners tease that danger is afoot as Sauron causes trouble across middle Earth, and the stakes are even higher. There is no one person constantly in power, instead it fluctuates back and forth like a political and psychological thriller.

A new behind the scenes featurette plays diving into how the rings we forged and the significance they will play in season 2. A live orc shows up onstage to introduce Sam Hazeldine. A new behind-the-scenes feature plays showing the creatures we can expect in Season 2 — Ents, spiders, sea-serpent, orcs, and a troll.

In Numenor, the politics and personal feelings will become complicated in Season 2. The Ents are in the show to protect the forest from everyone killing it. There will be lots of different monsters in Season 2, including the Balrog. Poppy and Nori’s arc will be a lot of adventure and a little bit of romance. The Stranger will meet Tom Bombadil, who he doesn’t understand and is kind of disoriented by. They will both spar and even sing a little together.

During fan questions, it is revealed that Vickers was never worried about being recast, even though Sauron could change his face. The dwarves will continue to be the voice of reason in Season 2. Glorfindel will appear in the show, and there’s room for a lot of surprising people to show up. Theo’s real dad will be revealed somewhere down the line. The showrunners tease that there may be LGBTQ+ characters on the show already. There will be more singing. The trailer is played for a second time.

***

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will return with new episodes on August 29th exclusively on Prime Video.