'Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power' Teaser Trailer Depicts a Potential Fiery Future

Prime Video has been dropping The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power nuggets all over the internet for months now, but never before has the streamer shared something so meaty as the two-and-a-half minute teaser trailer it just dropped. This footage clearly shows the various worlds you will visit when diving into the show starting Sept. 2, as well as sets up the character relationships and conflict that will unfold.

"There was a time when the world was so young, there hadn't yet been a sunrise," the teaser, which you can watch below, begins. "But even then, there was light."

The narration then switches to present tense in calling out the groups of characters the show will follow, including elves, dwarves, and harfoots. But the sense of safety they think they have, including telling Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) that she can put up her sword, is misguided and sure to be only temporary. Galadriel immediately warns that she has seen a fiery future.

"Darkness will march over the face of the Earth. It will be the end, not just of our people, but all peoples," the teaser warns.

Rings of Power is based on J.R.R. Tolkien's works but set thousands of years before the events of both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings series of stories. During the time depicted in the new drama series, kingdoms rose to glory (but also fell to ruin), heroes were tested, and one of the greatest villains threatened the world with that aforementioned darkness. 

"The past is dead. We either move forward or we die with it," the teaser says.

The Elven realms of Lindon and Eregion, the Dwarven realm Khazad-dûm, the Southlands, the Northernmost Wastes, the Sundering Seas, and the island kingdom of Númenór are all featured within the footage.

In addition, you can see the following characters in action: Isildur (Maxim Baldry), Elendil (Lloyd Owen), Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle), Queen Regent Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), Elrond (Robert Aramayo), High King Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker), Marigold Brandyfoot (Sara Zwangobani), Elanor "Nori" Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh), Poppy Proudfellow (Megan Richards), Sadoc Burrows (Sir Lenny Henry), The Stranger (Daniel Weyman), Dwarf King Durin III (Peter Mullan), Dwarf Prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur), Halbrand (Charlie Vickers), and Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova).

Rings of Power is showrun by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, who executive produce alongside Lindsey Weber, Callum Greene, J.A. Bayona, Belén Atienza, Justin Doble, Jason Cahill, Gennifer Hutchison, Bruce Richmond, and Sharon Tal Yguado. Wayne Che Yip serves as co-executive producer and director; J.A. Bayona and Charlotte Brändström also direct; and Ron Ames and Christopher Newman serve as producers.

The three Lord of the Rings films were highly-acclaimed, both on the critical and awards spectrums. They were all nominated for multiple Oscars, for example, including Best Picture, with the third film in the trilogy, subtitled The Return of the King, winning that coveted statue. That third film also has the highest Metascore (a 94), though the other two are not far behind. (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers has an 87 Metascore, and the first of the franchise, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, has a 92.) 

The Hobbit movies that followed in the following decade were less critically-acclaimed, however, with the first, subtitled An Unexpected Journey, only earning a 58 Metascore. The second in that series, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, earned a 66 Metascore, while the third and final film, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, earned a 59.