With the knowledge that the series will be in the Second Age, there has already been talk about what could happen. Drawing from many of Tolkien’s books, there are a lot of possibilities in this series. Here are 10 things super fans want from this show.
SILMARILLION CONTENT
The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit have both been properly adapted into movies. That means the next massive story on the list would be The Silmarillion. This book contains various stories and tales from Middle-Earth’s history, which would make a direct adaptation quite difficult.
YOUNGER SAURON
Sauron was the antagonist of The Lord of the Rings, but he was more of a looming presence rather than a direct adversary. We saw him as a warlord in the prologue, but that was it.
GANDALF
While we’re not sure that Ian McKellen would return to the role, it would be great to see such an iconic character present in the series. That would cement it as a story that takes place in the same world as Peter Jackson’s movies. It’s probably a long shot at this point, but it would be such a powerful addition for fans.
FORGING OF THE ONE RING
In the prologue for Peter Jackson’s films, we learn about the forging of the Rings of Power and how Sauron made the One Ring to rule them all. Apart from that, we don’t get much information about the One Ring or how it specifically grants power.
Sauron forged the One Ring during the Second Age of Middle-Earth, which makes it ripe to be portrayed in the upcoming movie. If that were the case, hopefully the show would go into more detail about how the Ring holds so much power and what Sauron’s reasoning was behind creating such a weapon.
BATTLING NUMENOR
The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies were both known for their epic battles in massive locations like Erebor, Helm’s Deep, and Minas Tirith. During the Second Age, there were numerous impressive battles as well.
The Numenoreans, the ancestors of Aragorn, were moving to Middle-Earth. They faced opposition from Sauron, which led to many battles. Sauron was even taken as their prisoner for a time, but he used it as an avenue to persuade many to join him. Showing this ongoing conflict could be interesting and show Sauron as more than just a force of power.
AGE OF THE ELVES
In The Lord of the Rings, Middle-Earth is predominantly inhabited by men. The Dwarves are hiding in their mountains and the Elves all leave to Valinor. With the Second Age being a focus of the show, it would be an opportunity to show what Middle-Earth was like when Elves were the dominant race.
The Elves were known for their great deeds and skills in battle. With impressive and glorious cities across Middle-Earth, they were the ones doing much of the fighting. Having Elves so primarily featured could also lead to characters like Galadriel, Celeborn, and Elrond appearing for a time.
RISE OF THE NAZGUL
The Nazgul were the primary lieutenants for Sauron. Also called the Ringwraiths, they were the creatures sent to find the One Ring and return it to him. They were once kings of men, though, who were seduced by the Rings of Power Sauron gave them.
This change happened in the Second Age of Middle-Earth, which means that it could be included in the show. Imagine getting to know some of the kings of men while watching them slowly changed into the dreaded Nazgul that we know from The Lord of the Rings. It could serve as a major plot point.
BIRTH OF GONDOR
Gondor was a powerful city in the movies. Home to iconic locations like Osgiliath, Minas Tirith, and Ithilien, it was heavily defended by the men of Middle-Earth. However, even Gondor has its origin. In the Second Age, it was the Numenoreans who established Gondor and constructed its massive cities.
Seeing the birth of such an iconic land would be a great thing to see in the show. It would also give the opportunity to showcase more characters, like Isildur or Elendil beyond their minor appearances in the movies. It would flesh out their characters much more than how we remember them.
ARNOR
Gondor and Rohan were the major cities of men in the Middle-Earth movies. However, there was one more outside of those: Arnor. The realm of Arnor was in the west and covered a great piece of territory. Weathertop is part of Arnor’s ruins after it was destroyed by the Witch-King.
Arnor was also established by the Numenoreans, which could make it a crucial part of the show. Seeing this new kingdom of men could be a great way of making Middle-Earth feel like a much bigger place. We could see more impressive sets and structures, just like the feeling of witnessing Minas Tirith for the first time.
CONSTRUCTION OF BARAD-DUR
Barad-Dur is the dark tower in The Lord of the Rings that houses the Eye of Sauron. It’s there that the darkest deeds in Middle-Earth were done. That tower was also incredibly old, as it was built in the Second Age by Sauron himself.
If the show is more connected to the films than the books, it would be cool to see how Sauron figured out the magic to become a flaming eye that saw all of Middle-Earth. Furthermore, any chance to see the inner workings of Mordor would be a nice touch. It was just a dark place in the movies, but the show could make it something more.
