One of the biggest differences between The Rings of Power and The Lord of the Rings trilogy is that Sauron (Charlie Vickers) is at the forefront of the Prime Video show’s story. Season 1 featured Sauron hiding in plain sight as Halbrand, and now, in Season 2, he will unleash his villainous agenda. Additionally, the second season will give viewers a glimpse at how Sauron became the dark lord of Middle-earth.
Via IGN, The Rings of Power Season 2 will flashback 1,000 years to the fall of Morgoth, the original dark lord of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy world. In these scenes, young Sauron will be portrayed by Jack Lowden, and the show will also establish the beginning of his rivalry with Adar (Sam Hazeldine), the primary villain of Season 1. This sequence suggests that the reason why Adar didn’t recognize Sauron in Season 1 is because he had a different face during their first meeting.
The video above features a glimpse of young Sauron, while also establishing that the dark lord will be spending a lot of time this season in his new persona: Annatar, the Lord of Gifts. This is another key part of Tolkien’s mythos, as Sauron couldn’t create the One Ring or the other Rings of Power without the help of the Elven-smith, Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards). Even the Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War video games have touched upon the history of these two characters.
Prime Video will premiere the first two episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 on August 29. New episodes will be released weekly through October 3. But there won’t be a long wait for more Middle-earth adventures. The animated movie, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, will be released in theaters on December 13.
