With Amazon’s The Rings of Power series release just around the corner, the excitement for the show is high. While many of the places and characters are familiar enough to The Lord of the Rings fans (both of the books and movies), The Rings of Power spans such a long timeframe in the Second Age of Middle-earth that instead of just a few main characters, there are quite a few that take center stage throughout. Entertainment Weekly recently did an exclusive of some of these major characters that we will expect to see in The Rings of Power.

1. Galadriel

Young Galadriel — Image Source: U.S. Weekly

Galadriel, played by Morfydd Clark, is a pivotal character in The Rings of Power. However, she is not the Galadriel you know from Cate Blanchett’s portrayal in The Lord of the Rings movies. Even at the time of the events in the Second Age, Galadriel is an older Elf and has seen a lot. She has lived through the events of the First Age, which included much strife and tension with the war against the first Dark Lord Morgoth and a lot of Elven fighting. The Galadriel we will see in The Rings of Power is more battle-hardened. While she seeks peace, she knows that evil is returning to Middle-earth.

Morfydd Clark never thought she would portray an Elf in Middle-earth, but nonetheless is very excited about playing Galadriel:

“I saw myself as more of a hobbit.”

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2. Elrond

Young Elrond — Image Source: Screen Rant

The younger version of Elrond is played by Robert Aramayo. Fans are familiar with his character as portrayed by Hugo Weaving in The Lord of the Rings movies. During the Second Age, Elrond has not risen to Lord of Rivendell yet.

Elrond and his brother Elros were given the choice of becoming mortal or immortal. Elros chose mortality and founded the kingdom of Númenor, which is a pivotal location of The Rings of Power, while Elrond chose immortality. In The Rings of Power, Elrond resides in the Elven kingdom of Lindon and is trying to figure out exactly who he is.

3. Míriel

Miriel — Image Source: Entertainment Weekly

The Númenórean queen Míriel is portrayed by Cynthia Addai-Robinson. Many Tolkien fans are excited to finally see Númenor on screen. The island of Númenor was a pivotal human (of half-elven descent) kingdom in the history of Middle Earth, and Tolkien wrote about it frequently in his many notes. In fact, many characters that we know and love are descended from the ancient Númenóreans: Aragorn, Boromir, and Faramir, to name a few. In the Second Age, Númenor is ruled by the queen regent, Míriel, who is a strong leader and desperately wants to help her people.

4. Durin IV

Durin IV is portrayed by Owain Arthur. Avid Tolkien fans know the name Durin as the first ruler of the Dwarven kingdom came to be. Of course, Durin IV isn’t the same Durin, but he is still quite powerful. One of the most exciting things in The Rings of Power is that fans will finally get to see the famous Dwarven kingdom of Khazad-dûm also known as Moria. It was in ruins in The Lord of the Rings and had fallen to evil powers in The Hobbit. However, in The Rings of Power, we will get to see it in its glory.

Durin IV is married to Disa, the dwarven queen.

5. Disa

The Dwarven queen Disa is portrayed by Sophia Nomvete. This is the first time we will see a female Dwarf portrayed on screen. Many fans were upset at first because she does not have a beard (or at least, from what we could see in pictures). In The Lord of the Rings movies, Gimli tells how Dwarven women have beards as well. However, Nomvete has confirmed that her character does indeed have facial hair, just less noticeable than her husband Durin IV.

While Disa was not explicitly in Tolkien’s writings, she is based on his lore and is sure to be a powerful character.

6. Gil-galad

High King Gil-galad — Image Source: Nerdist

The Elven king Gil-galad is played by Benjamin Walker. As a pivotal character in the Second Age, he is probably one of the more famous legendary elves in Tolkien’s world. He formed the Last Alliance of Elves and Men to fight Sauron (as portrayed in the Prologue of The Lord of the Rings movies). He also died in the final battle against Sauron.

In The Rings of Power, Gil-galad is a stoic High king of the Elven realm of Lindon. He is one of the characters that suspects that the current peace will not last and that there is an evil coming.

7. Celebrimbor

Perhaps one of the most important characters in The Rings of Power series is Celebrimbor, played by Charles Edwards. Celebrimbor is one who forged the Rings of Power (albeit by manipulation), of course, with the exception of the One Ring. In Tolkien’s lore, Celebrimbor is brilliant with the hammer and forge. He is descended from the elf Fëanor who lived in the First Age and was responsible for forging the Silmarils. He is friends with the Dwarves in Khazad-dûm.

8. Isildur

Isildur, played by Maxim Baldry is one of the more fascinating characters in Tolkien’s lore. He is the Númenórean who ends up founding the kingdom of Gondor. He is also famous for cutting the One Ring from Sauron’s hand. Of course, as we know, he fails to destroy it, and it eventually leads to his downfall and almost the downfall of Gondor in the Third Age. Aragorn is descended from him.

In The Rings of Power we meet Isildur when he is still living in Númenor with his father Elendil (played by Lloyd Owen) and his sister Eärien (played by Ema Horvath). He is at a crossroads and is learning about who he is and what he wants in life.

9. Elanor “Nori” Brandyfoot

Nori Brandyfoot, played by Markella Kavenagh, is one of the new characters in Tolkien’s world. Tolkien briefly mentioned the Harfoots, a pre-cursor to the Hobbit race in “The Appendices” of The Lord of the Rings. In The Rings of Power, are wandering nomads who have yet to settle down. Many Harfoots like to lead the quiet life like many of the Hobbits, but Nori yearns for adventure, not unlike Bilbo and Frodo and the rest.

10. Sadoc Burrows

Sadoc Burrows, played by Lenny Henry, is another notable Harfoot. He is the leader of the particular nomadic tribe of Harfoots that Nori belongs to. He is good at keeping them hidden from the others of Middle-earth and out of trouble.

11. Halbrand

Halbrand, played by Charlie Vickers, is another Tolkien-inspired character. We do not know much about him except that he is a mysterious human castaway who, according to images and footage, eventually meets up with Galadriel where they journey across the Sundering Seas to Númenor.

12. Arondir

The Elf Arondir, played by Ismael Cruz Córdova, is probably one of the characters that many fans are interested to see as he is another character who is not from Tolkien’s lore. Most interestingly, he strikes up a forbidden relationship with a human named Bronwyn, which is rather reminiscent of two other couples that Tolkien did write about: Lúthien and Beren, and Aragorn and Arwen. Arondir is a Silvan elf and is not of any sort of special parentage or background. He is just a soldier stationed in the Southlands to watch over the humans who lived there, who had, in the past, aligned themselves with the Dark Lord(s). Arondir and Bronwyn end up exploring the mysterious happenings that start in the Southlands. Córdova has this to say about Arondir:

“I've always been drawn to the underdog. In the hierarchy of it all, he's just a soldier, so I wanted to explore that. But he has that energy, that fire, and that determination — and the love that he has for Bronwyn is the galvanizing aspect that carries him through this awesome journey.”

13. Bronwyn

Bronwyn is played by Nazanin Boniadi. She is a healer and lives in the Southlands with her son, Theo (played by Tyroe Muhafidin). From the most recent trailer, Theo appears to play an important role in the series. Not much else is known about her as of yet, except for her relationship with Arondir.

Of course, there are many more characters that will be involved in this epic series, many of whom are actually from Tolkien’s writings and many of whom are not. It will be interesting to see how their stories all fit together and what each character will bring to the story that will unfold.

The Rings of Power premieres on Amazon Prime Video on September 2.

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