The Lord of the Rings fans have been anxiously awaiting news about the upcoming Amazon spin-off series entitled The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Recently, Vanity Fair released exclusive images of some cast members and scenery, as well as some minor details surrounding the story.
The reactions to these new images vary greatly from fan to fan. While some fans are optimistic about the new show and the apparent changes that have been made to Tolkien lore, others are dismayed at the direction the makers have chosen based on the new pictures. While the discussion still rages, here are some of the best initial reactions to the first sneak peek images of The Rings of Power series.
In the Vanity Fair special, it is revealed that the new spin-off series will take place 2000 years before the events of The Lord of the Rings movies. Tolkien outlines many of these events in his prequel The Silmarillion. However, the show's producers explained that the events leading up to the story fans know and love will be condensed to better fit a series.
Fans are a little less than thrilled at this news, as it will greatly change the beloved lore of the Tolkien universe. While some fans had plenty to say about this decision, user @Sahlor_ shared a gif of Aragorn, one of the most powerful heroes from The Lord of the Rings, dropping his head in utter disappointment. The simple gif speaks for itself.
Elrond is the lord of Rivendel, and as one of the elves, is considered beautiful beyond measure. Fans still can't let go of Elrond's casting in Peter Jackson's trilogy, feeling that Hugo Weaving was not the right fit for the role. However, when it was revealed that Elrond would be this time seen as a young man, it opened up a new opportunity for fans to be satisfied.
However, it seems that the newest casting of Robert Aramayo as Elrond isn't any more pleasing to some fans. User @YuGoOhniShi shared an image of Tolkien's original description of Elrond, which clearly is very different than the image of Aramayo's Elrond. While Aramayo has the striking facial structure that could be associated with a beautiful elf, fans are not happy about his short hair and casual demeanor in the image.
Casting someone to play an immortal and perfect fictitious being can't be easy. Elves are described as being glowing, light-footed, clear of voice, and always flawless. Characters like Elrond and Galadriel are strong and wise and possess powers that other races cannot dream of.
Because of these unrealistic standards, fans like user @lefty_archaeo are disappointed at the choices made for The Rings of Power. They claimed that while Peter Jackson seemed to go through pained efforts to meet the high bar for elven kind, the new creators didn't do the same. Actress Morfydd Clark is beautiful and commanding in her armored image, but something about her contrasting appearance to the trilogy's version of Galadriel leaves audiences wanting more.
Many fans are looking for the nostalgic feelings that they get from rewatching The Lord of the Rings trilogy. With the promise of a new show set in the same universe, expectations are running high. However, with differences in filming and editing style between creators, as well as the development in technology over the past couple of decades, fans may end up with something entirely different.
User @g4m1ngbe4ver has noticed this already from the new images, pointing out that there is something about them that differs from the feel of the original movies. While this may be difficult to tell from pictures alone, chances are that they are correct. Fans may need to be flexible if they hope to enjoy the spin-off.
The Rings of Power will be giving the Tolkien universe its first female dwarf. Princess Disa, portrayed by Sophia Nomvete, is shown adorned in gold in full dwarven glory, but fans have noticed that she is missing something apparently important: a beard.
While Tolkien never explicitly said that female dwarves had beards, he does state in the books that they are indistinguishable from male dwarves, and that certainly cannot be said for Disa. User @lambofwinter shared a meme showing Disa with a beard, and the unmistakable character of Gimli panicking as it is shaved off. This meme pokes fun at the lack of beard that fans were looking for.
Perhaps one of the biggest talking points after the release of the images is the presence of black actors portraying elves and dwarves. Tolkien never said that these fictitious races could not have dark skin, however, no previous actors of color have ever been cast to play in a Lord of the Rings movie.
Some fans believe this to be a major divergence from the original works, but others are all about the inclusion of diversity in the Tolkien universe. @ncnwangwu shared a GIF of Snoop Dog dancing for joy, expressing their excitement at seeing BIPOC representation in The Lord of The Rings.
It's impossible to please everyone. Fans of major franchises such as Starwars and Marvel are fairly used to being disappointed. While The Lord of the Rings fans have seen a few disappointments here and there, they have mostly been able to enjoy the largely successful movies for the past 20 years.
User @Claudia_Ripley uses a meme to point out that it is now the LotR fandom's turn to be disappointed. The meme shows LotR fans laughing at disappointed Star Wars fans, but then switching to the LotR fans having the treatment reversed on them after seeing The Rings of Power images. It might just be time for LotR fans to get used to disappointment.
While The Lord of the Rings films were all fairly well-received, The Hobbit movies are a different story. Fans were disappointed when they learned that the short-and-sweet book was going to be turned into a much more dramatic trilogy, greatly exaggerating the story and adding main characters to The Hobbit films.
However, The Hobbit still stuck to the general feel of The Lord of the Rings movies, and still managed to please fans in at least a few ways, so it still has a leg up on the first impressions of The Rings of Power series. User @OtakuPyun points out that "suddenly The Hobbit trilogy doesn't look so bad," with a GIF of The Hobbit cast laughing in apparent mockery.
Tolkien is infamous for his multitude of characters that are difficult to keep track of. As well as creating these characters, Tolkien always managed to provide an extremely detailed backstory and family history for most of them. This presents an absolute dream for anyone attempting to pick up where he left off and put his stories on the screen.
However, the show creators have decided to add a couple of characters of their own, and fans are downright confused. "That's a bit bold of them," says user @Cheezyspam. While they are one of the few users that seemed pleased with what the images had to offer, they could not help but feel that the invention of new characters was completely unnecessary.
Tolkien created an extremely detailed world that fans have been able to enjoy for decades and many feel that that creation should be respected. One of these fans, @knarsu, is disturbed by the show's producer's decision to expand on Tolkien's universe and take creative liberties.
Truthfully, this is not the first time that these such liberties have been taken with The Lord of the Rings, as the original movie trilogy, as well as The Hobbit movies, added a lot, especially in areas such as the roles of female characters that were lacking from Tolkien's novels. The big question for The Rings of Power series is going to be: where should the line be drawn?
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