‘The Rings of Power’ Title Teaser: Amazon’s LOTR Recasts Cate Blanchett’s Galadriel (Good Luck, Fantasy Show #137) 

Before you overthink it, 137 is an arbitrary number. 

Ever since HBO’s Game of Thrones fizzled out of existence, streaming services have looked to capitalize on its lingering popularity, milking the fantasy genre for all it’s worth—from Netflix’s The Witcher to Amazon’s Wheel of Time. The latter streamer is now doubling down on the great-grandfather IP of modern fantasy, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. 

Of all the fantasy shows currently being produced, with its $465 million budget, Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is, quite literally, the big one. As in the most expensive television series of all time; costing Bezos and company more than New Line Cinema spent on the entirety of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Where Jackson’s movies took place in the Third Age of Middle-Earth, the upcoming series will be set during the Second Age—which lasted 3,441 years. Remember the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring? When Sauron kicked everyone’s ass and then Isildur cut off his finger? 

That dismemberment marked the end of the Second Age. That being said, the show, while inspired by the source material, will not be connected to Jackson’s movies and none of the actors involved with the trilogy will be allowed on set (apparently, it’s a rule). Both Hugo Weaving’s Elrond and Cate Blanchett’s Galadriel have been recast, with the latter character known being played by Morfydd Clark, who narrated the recent title announcement teaser trailer. Check out the totally-not CGI teaser below:

Tolkienites already hate The Rings of Power. For one, the series is said to feature sex scenes (most likely between hobbits) and be much more mature than its source material/previous adaptations. Two, “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” is a painstakingly redundant title. 

In the above teaser, Clark’s Galadriel can be heard reading a section of Tolkien’s Ring Verse—which is an extension of the inscription engraved on Sauron’s One Ring ala “one ring to rule them all, and in the darkness bind them.” The Rings of Power, chronicling Sauron’s rise to power, is poised to be the show to rule them all. 

It better not shit the caima…that means bed in elvish. 

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power arrives on Amazon Prime Video on September 2, 2022.

Cover Photo: Amazon Prime Video/New Line Cinema

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