The Rings of Power trailer casts an enchanting spell during the Lord of the Rings panel at Comic-Con

Last Updated on July 24, 2022

Bake yourself some Lembas bread, and leave your Vorpal blade at the security counter because Amazon Studios is bringing The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power to San Diego Comic-Con! Today, a brand-new trailer for the highly-anticipated (and expensive) series debuted at the Rings of Power panel, and it’s already blowing people’s minds. The Rings of Power trailer features music by The Lord of the Rings film composer Howard Shore. The footage is unlike anything we’ve seen. It’s as if a spell is being cast to sell us on this series like never before. Lavish and jaw-dropping in ways you would have never expected from television production, it’s evident that Amazon is raising the bar with this presentation.

After the trailer, Colbert said Tolkien knew the difference between happiness and joy; joy can be born from pain. It was also noted how different Middle Earth was before Sam and Frodo. The series is about “the birth of evil.” Work on the series began in 2018, with the bulk of the story set in the kingdom of Númenor.

Today’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power panel started with Bear McCreary, the series composer, conducting a full orchestra playing the gorgeous theme. JoBlo’s Chris Bumbray says the performance was incredible. Late Night host Stephen Colbert is moderating the panel. He says the story unfolds over five seasons. Colbert also says he’s read the Lord of the Rings novels innumerable times. He lost count after fifty. He noted that Tolkien always explored everything in detail, but not the Second Age. The source material for The Rings of Power comes from the Appendices. He says it can be challenging for someone to present a new take on the source material, but the showrunners – J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay – are passionate about the opportunity. The new trailer for The Rings of Power began to play for the audience.

It was rumored last year that Howard Shore was in talks to compose music for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, and now it’s official. Shore has returned to write the main title theme for the blockbuster Amazon Studios series, with the full episode scores composed by Bear McCreary. “With their deep understanding of the Tolkien legendarium, coupled with two of the greatest musical talents of our age, we’re thrilled that Howard and Bear are joining us on this epic journey to Middle-earth,” said Bob Bowen, Worldwide Head of Music for Amazon Studios.

According to Deadline, McCreary has spent the past year recording hours of music for The Rings of Power with “a full symphonic orchestra, alongside vibrant folk instruments and choral singers.” I can’t wait to see what Howard Shore and Bear McCreary have cooked up for The Rings of Power.

During the panel, McCreary said Shore wrote the main title theme, which we haven’t heard yet. He said his music has roots in Shore’s legacy and felt he needed to honor the creativity but also got to explore the diaspora of Middle Earth.

The crowd was also treated to an official clip from the show featuring Elrond and Durin having a stone-breaking competition. Bumbray says it was really impressive and that he will need a bigger TV.

The official synopsis of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power:

Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth’s history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness. Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.

The first season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will debut on Prime Video on September 2, 2022.