What The Lord of the Rings Characters Appear in The Rings of Power?

Ever since the series was put into development fans have known that Amazon’s The Rings of Power would be a prequel to The Lord of the Rings storyline from J.R.R. Tolkein’s novels. Set during “The Second Age” of Tolkein’s expansive mythos, a few thousand years before the main events of The Fellowship of the Ring, one would normally think this would prevent any characters that appear in that story from also appearing in Amazon’s new TV series. Thanks to the magic of some of Tolkein’s creations there are a handful of familiar faces that will appear.

Though The Rings of Power has an expansive ensemble cast, only a few of the characters that will appear will be ones that fans of the feature films will recognize (though they’re played by different actors than in the Peter Jackson feature films). Among them is Robert Aramayo, best known for playing young Ned Stark in Game of Thrones, who plays the part of Elrond the Elf. Played by Hugo Weaving in the films, Elrond’s history begins back in the First Age, but he has an important place within the Second and Third ages, including being apart of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men and also helping form The Fellowship of the Ring. Another high profile elf from the novels/films is also present with Benjamin Walker taking on the role of Gil-galad (played by Mark Ferguson in the movies)

Another key Elven character that is front and center of The Rings of Power is Galadriel. The trailers for the series tease a pretty action-heavy presence for her in the TV show, something that stands in stark contrast to her role in The Lord of the Rings. Actress Morfydd Clark (His Dark Materials, Saint Maud) takes on the role for the series, in the feature films, Galadriel is played by Cate Blanchett.

There are also two key “Men” characters that appear in The Rings of Power that Lord of the Rings fans will know well, Elendil (played by Lloyd Owen in the series and briefly appearing in the films played by Peter McKenzie) and his son Isildur (Maxim Baldry in The Rings of Power, played by Harry Sinclair in Jackson’s movies). In Tolkein’s narrative Elendil si the first King of Gondor and part of the Last Alliance that marches against Sauron, with Isildur by his side. As fans may recall, Isildur is also the one that cuts the One Ring from Sauron’s hand but then also fails to destroy it in Mount Doom, having already been tempted by its power.

Finally there’s one last character that Lord of the Rings fans will recognize in The Rings of Power, and it’s naturally the one that the franchise is named for, Sauron. Central to the premise of the entire series is Sauron’s rise to power and eventual defeat at the end of the Second Age, but who plays the character is not yet confirmed.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will stream its first two episodes on Amazon Prime Video later this week.