San Diego Comic-Con morphed into Middle Earth on Friday as The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power took the Hall H stage. Showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay were joined by over a dozen cast members for a lively and insightful conversation moderated by Emmy-nominated actress and renowned genre fan Yvette Nicole Brown (Avengers: Endgame, Community).
The cast members who participated in the show’s Hall H panel were Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Robert Aramayo, Maxim Baldry, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Charles Edwards, Trystan Gravelle, Sam Hazeldine, Ema Horvath, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Lloyd Owen, Megan Richards, Charlie Vickers, Benjamin Walker, and Daniel Weyman.
The panel opened with Hall H plunged into darkness, as a chorus of voices and drums reverberated with iconic music from the show. As the music faded, the cast took the stage and introduced the new trailer for season two:
When asked about what lessons has Galadriel learned, Morfydd Clark replied, “Don’t trust handsome northern men! Also that she doesn’t know everything.”
According to the showrunners, aeason two starts where Sauron has nothing, no rings no army no allies, and season two is where he starts to pit everyone against each other. This season also goes into the Eregion story and it hinges on the forging of the Rings.
Teasers for season two include more time with Galadriel and Sauron, Isildur encountering a young Shelob, and that Tom Bombadil might just be able to tell The Stranger who he really is.
Other highlights from the panel included an orc appearing on stage in full makeup and costume and Benjamin Walker aka High King Gil-galad singing to the audience:
And Sophia Nomvete revealed that we will certainly hear her character Disa sing more in season two, and in fact her singing will lead her to learn that something lurks in the depths of Khazad-dum.
About season two:
In Season Two of The Rings of Power, Sauron has returned. Cast out by Galadriel, without an army or ally, the rising Dark Lord must now rely on his own cunning to rebuild his strength and oversee the creation of the Rings of Power, which will allow him to bind all the peoples of Middle-earth to his sinister will. Building on Season One’s epic scope and ambition, the new season plunges even its most beloved and vulnerable characters into a rising tide of darkness, challenging each to find their place in a world that is increasingly on the brink of calamity. As friendships are strained and kingdoms begin to fracture, the forces of good—Elves and dwarves, orcs and men, wizards and Harfoots—will struggle ever more valiantly to hold on to what matters to them most of all: each other.
The second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will premiere exclusively on Prime Video on August 29, 2024.
