When Amazon announcedThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, a new TV series that takes place within Middle-earth, fans were surprised to say the least. Not since 2013’sThe Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armieshas there been new tales based in the world ofThe Lord of the Ringscontent. Little was known about the series for a long time, in part due to a COVID-related production delay, but Amazon revealed the firstRings of Powertrailerearlier this week in anticipation of the show’s September premiere. Judging by the trailer, the showrunners do seem to be taking some liberties with the source material, and the show could learn from the mistakes and successes ofMiddle-earth: Shadow Of Mordor.
Shadow of Mordoris one of the most notable non-canonical games within the universe of J. R. R. Tolkien. The game largely ignores the characters fromThe HobbitandThe Lord of the Ringstrilogyin favor of its new protagonist Talion. Monolith Productions does, however, root Talion firmly within the lore of Tolkien; the character travels to notable locations within Middle-earth and meets a handful of canon characters. The wayShadow of Mordormanages to balance the new and the old is something thatThe Rings of Powerwould do well to learn from.
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Locations of Middle-earth
The most important lesson fromShadow of Mordoris to refrain from reinventing the wheel and instead utilize the groundwork that’s already there. One great way the developers accomplished this was by embracing the locations of Middle-earth. A majority of the events within the game take place in, unsurprisingly, Mordor, which is an iconic part of Middle-earth. Talion is also captain of the rangers ofGondorand consequently lives atop the Black Gate, a locale frequently seen inThe Lord of the Ringsmovies. By using locations with which audiences are familiar, the non-canonical aspects of the story are all the more believable.The Rings of Powerseries should absolutely revisit both the familiar and mysterious areas of Tolkien’s world.
Reusing Tolkien’s Characters
The characters of Middle-earth are arguably the most important aspect of Tolkien’s works; these personalities breathe life into the otherwise vapid lands.Shadow of Mordorwas skillful when it came to deciding which canon characters to include and which to exclude. Enough mystery surrounded Celebrimbor and even Gollum - enough mystery for an entireGollumvideo game, evidently - to allow writers liberties when writing new sections of their backstories. Rather than pick characters whose stories have been completely fleshed out, like Bilbo or Frodo, writers at Amazon would have more leeway if they picked canon characters about whom fans know little.
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Staying True to the Tolkien’s Lore
For everythingShadow of Mordorgot right, though, there are some areas it went a little too far with the canon. Celebrimbor’s narrative was a creative take on a minor character, but his involvement withSauron’s soldiersupsets the balance with the greater Tolkien universe. It’s revealed near the end of the game that Celebrimbor not only forged the rings of power but also used the One Ring to attack Sauron with an army of Orcs. Such a significant battle coordinated by a lone Elf feels far-fetched and undermines what fans know of the history of Middle-earth.
It’s a difficult task to please both casual and hardcore audiences, butRings of Powerneeds to walk that line in order to live up to the franchise’s prestige. The show aims to make something new out of the already well-explored source material, and it can only reference what Amazon bought the rights to:The Lord of the Ringstrilogy,The Hobbit, andThe Return of the King’sappendices.
The love and attention to detail that went intoShadow of Mordormade it a successful addition tothe Tolkien universe, and it’ll be exciting to see ifThe Rings of Power’sinterpretation can do the same. If nothing else, the show will provoke fans to consider what they’d like to see from Middle-earth entertainment moving forward.
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordorand its sequel,Shadow of War, are available now on the PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerwill premiere on September 2nd on Amazon Prime.
