Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power New Image Reveals Snow Troll

Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series is debuting in September, and Empire Magazine recently had a chat with co-showrunner Patrick McKay about the highly-anticipated series. The world exclusive magazine is hitting stands soon, but Empire has teased some content, including McKay assuring fans that this series isn’t trying to compete with Peter Jackson’s iconic trilogy. Empire also shared the first look at a snow troll, which is expected to appear in the show. 

In J. R. R. Tolkien’s vast world, snow trolls are large, grey-white, and rare. They prey on the northern regions of Middle-earth and turn into pillars of icy slag when exposed to the Sun. You can check out the photo below:

“This isn’t the Middle-earth you remember,” concept artist John Howe told Empire. “This is a world that’s very vibrant. The elves are not hidden away in Mirkwood or lingering in Rivendell. They’re busy constructing kingdoms. The dwarven kingdom of Moria is not an abandoned mine and the Grey Havens is not yet an abandoned city. I loved having the opportunity to explore that unseen history.”

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power takes place 1,000 years before Lord of the Rings and is set during Middle-earth’s Second Age. It begins during a time of relative peace following the defeat of Morgoth, Sauron’s master. The series chronicles the lives and adventures of its ensemble cast and promises to visit the Misty Mountains, the forest elf-capital of Lindon, and the shores of the island kingdom of Númenor. The cast includes 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.

“Anyone approaching Lord Of The Rings on screen would be wrong not to think about how wonderfully right Jackson got so much of it,” McKay tells Empire. “But we’re admirers from afar, that’s it. The Rings Of Power doesn’t try to compete with him.” He added, “You can psych yourself out in keeping up with the Joneses, but one of the mantras on this was ‘go back to the source material … What would Tolkien do?”

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will debut on Prime Video on September 2nd.