The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is returning to Amazon Prime at a yet-to-be-determined date. The cast discussed what to expect at the For Your Consideration event hosted by Prime Video in Los Angeles on Sunday
In the prequel series set a thousand years before the events of The Lord of Rings or The Hobbit, the classic books by J.R.R. Tolkien, in Season 2 many things are changing after three elven rings were forged in the Season 1 finale.
"We were in a time of relative peace in Season 1 and all that gets shaken up," actor Ismael Cruz Cordova, who plays Arondir, said. "We're dealing with the aftermath of this big evil that is now concrete. We got the guy now; Sauron is here.
"In Season 2, we're grappling with that," he continued. "These characters are grappling with their elvish-ness or their dwarf-ness, with their humanity and their loves. What you're going to see is the depth of our reality and how it is expressed. That's where it all takes off."
Cruz Cordova also talked about the backlash he received as the franchise's first Black elf. He was harassed online from almost the time his casting was announced. But now that The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is heading into a second season, he feels vindicated.
"I've been wanting to play an elf for around 20 years, a dream that came with a lot of naysayers along the way," he added. "By the time we started shooting, I had already faced a year of backlash: a lot of negativity, death threats, racism, all of that. I knew going in that I would have to be bulletproof to prove to all these people that I belong there. Fast forward to Season 2, the love and support were concrete -- I still get emotional thinking about it."
For fans of the show who know the complex backstories and current storylines between the elves, dwarves and the human kings, star Morfydd Clark, who plays Galadriel, may have provided the event's biggest bombshell reveal.
"When we finished Season 1, the rings were being made and we knew it was going to be a huge change for Middle Earth," Clark told Deadline. "[Galadriel] is going to be part of that change because she has her own ring."
She added, "She's about to have a life-changing thing happen to her. She's about to become acquainted with Nenya, her ring. It's really exciting to see how the magic creeps in."
ADVERTISEMENT
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power also stars Owain Arthur, Sophia Nomvete and J.A. Bayona who attended the event as well.
Though the series was expected to resume in early 2024, there are three weeks of filming left that will be completed without showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKaye, due to the Writer's Guild of America strike. That has left productions still in progress with an uncertain release future.