As Amazon gets its promotional campaign going for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the first still images from the series -- both on-screen shots, and some behind-the-scenes photos of the production staff -- have popped up at Vanity Fair. These come ahead of a planned TV spot which will air during the Super Bowl this weekend on NBC. The venerable magazine has a pretty in-depth look behind the curtain at the long-awaited TV series, which reportedly cost upwards of $1 billion and is guaranteed several seasons on the streaming platform.
Amazon describes the series, "During the Second Age of Middle-earth, Sauron sought to corrupt the Elves by posing as Annatar, Lord of Gifts, and teaching particular Elven smiths to forge Rings. The Elves forged 19 rings: 16 with Sauron's aid (known as the Nine and the Seven) and Three without. Sauron, meanwhile, went to Mount Doom and forged the One Ring in secret, hoping to bind the Elves to his power. However, the Elves bearing the Three sensed immediately when Sauron put on his One Ring. They hid their rings and refused to use them or return them to Sauron. Thus, Sauron amassed his forces and waged war on the Elves, eventually retrieving the Seven and the Nine and redistributing them among lords of Dwarves and Men, respectively. The corruption of men would eventually lead to the fall of Númenor. Sauron's attempted conquest of Middle-earth would continue until Isildur cut the Ring from his finger during the Last Alliance of Elves and Men's siege on Barad-dûr. This event marked the dawn of Middle-earth's Third Age and set the stage for The Lord of the Rings."
The series stars Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Maxim Baldry, Nazanin Boniadi, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Charles Edwards, Trystan Gravelle, Sir Lenny Henry, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Lloyd Owen, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, Leon Wadham, Benjamin Walker, Daniel Weyman, and Sara Zwangobani.
J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay served as showrunners and executive producers on the series. Other executive producers include Lindsey Weber, Callum Greene, J.A. Bayona, Belen Atienza, Justin Doble, Jason Cahill, Gennifer Hutchinson, Bruce Richmond, and Sharon Tal Yguado.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premieres on Amazon Prime Video on September 2nd. You can see the preview photos below.
