Rings of Power Star Explains How Show is Different From LOTR Trilogy

Ema Horvath, star of the upcoming The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power, says that the show will have a less apocalyptic look and feel than the movies. The Rings of Power is an upcoming show connected to The Lord of The Rings movie trilogy. In 2017, Amazon bought the television rights for The Lord of The Rings, committing to producing five seasons of a show in the same universe. Filming for The Rings of Power season 1 concluded in August 2021, and production for season 2 is set to begin later this year.

The Rings of Power series is set thousands of years before the events of The Lord of The Rings and The Hobbit, in a time period known as the Second Age. Compared to the Middle-earth fans of the franchise are familiar with, Middle-earth’s Second Age is much more peaceful, as the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron hasn't happened yet. The Rings of Power is developed by J.D. Payne and Patrick McCay and produced by Ron Ames and Christopher Newman. It stars Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, and Maxim Baldry.

Horvath, who plays Elendi’s daughter Eärien, exclusively tells Screen Rant just how different the universe of The Rings of Power will feel from The Lord of the Rings. She says that viewers may be surprised to see how “opulent” and “colorful” Middle-earth will look in the non-apocalyptic time Second Age. And since Eärien lives on Númenor, an island kingdom that fell by the time of The Lord of the Rings, viewers of The Rings of Power will get to see how “glorious” Númenor was before its fall. Check out Horvath’s full quote below:

Just how opulent it is. You watch the movies, and everything is kind of apocalyptic almost. Especially for my character, who is on Númenor. It's the most glorious, beautiful, vibrant, colorful thing in comparison to what we've seen before.

The Rings of Power has an extremely high budget, expected to exceed $1 billion over the five seasons. If all goes according to plan, that will mean The Rings of Power will have the highest budget in television history. Because the budget is so massive, fans have high expectations for the production design and VFX work for the series. Horvath’s description of the lush setting seems promising, and the production team certainly has the budget to live up to high fan expectations.

The show is not a direct continuation of The Lord of the Rings due to licensing issues. As a result, it will be interesting to see how the show sets up not only the world of the Second Age but also the brand new characters and storylines. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the most beloved franchises of all time, but having The Rings of Power look and feel different isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, fans will have to wait until September of this year to see how The Rings of Power season 1 turns out.

Share this post