Amazon's Lord of the Rings images reveal first look at key characters

The first images for Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power have arrived – and they confirm which characters will be part of the show's sizable cast.

Released as part of a lengthy Vanity Fair feature – the whole article is a must-read for any Lord of the Rings fan – the official stills reveal the individuals who will play significant roles in the Prime Video TV show.

We already knew that Morfydd Clark (Saint Maud) is portraying a younger version of Galadriel, and that Lenny Henry (Doctor Who) is playing an unnamed hobbit. Aside from a first-look image that was released in August 2021 and 23 character posters that were released earlier in February, though, we had no idea about who would appear in The Rings of Power.

Now, though, we've received confirmation that beloved characters, including Elrond and Durin IV, will feature in some capacity. Check out a snapshot of some of the official images via Vanity Fair's tweet below:

Robert Aramayo (Game of Thrones), who replaced Will Poulter as a supposedly key character called 'Beldor' back in January 2020, is actually playing Elrond, the eventual King of Rivendell and future father of Arwen.

Meanwhile, Owain Arthur, best known to UK viewers for BBC hospital drama Casualty, will portray Prince Durin IV. In J.R.R. Tolkien's legendary novels, Durin IV goes onto rule the Kingdom of Khazad-dûm, which has fallen into ruin and is overrun with goblins (and the Balrog) by the time of The Fellowship of the Ring.

British stage actress Sophia Nomvete is playing a Dwarven princess called Disa, while Ismael Cruz Córdova (In The Blood, The Undoing) is portraying a silvan elf named Arondir, a brand-new character for the series. Arondir will had a forbidden romance with a human called Bronwyn, who Nazanin Boniadi (How I Met Your Mother) will portray.

Another new character, Halbrand, will be played by Charlie Vickers (Medici, Palm Beach). Per Vanity Fair's article, Halbrand is a "fugitive who is on the run from his past", and he'll bump into Clark's Galadriel early on in The Rings of Power's first season.

Speaking of Galadriel, The Rings of Power will open on her quest to hunt down the last of Morgoth and Sauron's fellow evil-doers. Vanity Fair's article suggests that she'll be leading the elven Northern Armies – a position that only the most noble of elves hold. Meanwhile, another significant elf character in Celebrimbor, who makes the titular Rings of Power, will be played by Charles Edwards (The Crown).

Finally, Markella Kavenagh and Megan Richards will play unnamed hobbits, while Maxim Baldry (Years and Years) is playing Isildur – the hugely significant character who ends Sauron's reign of terror during the Second Age's climactic battle, but who succumbs to Sauron's legendary ring and refuses to cast it into the fires of Mount Doom, thus setting up the events of Lord of the Rings.

Thankfully, it won't be much longer until we find out more about The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The series' official trailer will debut during the Super Bowl LVI half-time show, so we'll learn more about its Second Age setting, other characters, overarching plot, and more very soon.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will launch exclusively on Prime Video on September 2, 2022.

Analysis: who are The Rings of Power's other characters?

While Vanity Fair's feature confirmed the identities of nine other individuals who'll appear alongside Galadriel, there are still plenty of actors who haven't had their characters revealed yet.

For one, we don't know who'll be starring as Sauron yet. Online rumors have suggested that Game of Thrones' Joseph Mawle is playing someone called Oren, which could be a pseudonym for Sauron. After all, we thought Aramayo was portraying someone named Beldor, so it's certainly a possibility.

The identity of Lenny Henry's Harfoot hobbit is yet to be revealed, while other notable names including Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Trystan Gravelle, Ema Horvath, Simon Merrells, and Lloyd Owens haven't received public character confirmations. In total, we're still waiting on 30 of The Rings of Power's cast to receive official character reveals.

One thing we can count on, however, is that Frodo, Sam, Aragorn and company won't feature in Amazon's Lord of the Rings. These characters weren't born until Middle Earth's Third Age, so they won't be making cameo appearances in The Rings of Power. Amazon's Lord of the Rings TV show has a stacked enough cast as it is, so that's largely a good thing.

We'll be here on Monday (February 14) to take a deep dive into The Rings of Power's trailer, as well as covering any other confirmed character announcements that are revealed. So make sure you check back in with TechRadar next week.

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