The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power Is Coming To Comic-Con

Heads up, San Diego! Middle-earth is coming to you this summer. For the first time since 2014, when the cast and crew of "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" made their highly-anticipated appearance at several panels at the event, the fantasy world of J.R.R. Tolkien and the weekend chaos of San Diego Comic-Con are on a collision course once again.

Prime Video announced the exciting news about the upcoming series earlier today, confirming all those practically no-brainer rumors that "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" will unleash plenty of exclusive looks at the famed Hall H stage this July, to the delight of countless cosplaying nerds. Fans in attendance of the event can expect to see showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay in-person, along with many (if not all) of the vast ensemble who are making up the core cast of the series. 

Those actors include (deep breath) Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Maxim Baldry, Nazanin Boniadi, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Charles Edwards, Trystan Gravelle, Sir Lenny Henry, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Lloyd Owen, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, Leon Wadham, Benjamin Walker, Daniel Weyman, and Sara Zwangobani.

Given that many of the actors are largely unknown, this will serve as the passionate "Lord of the Rings" fandom's first real opportunity to get to know the latest batch of performers who will be embodying Elves, Dwarves, humans, Hobbit ancestors, and so much more. To those who will be lining up overnight to attend these panels: please be nice to all the cast and crew who'll be in attendance!

Middle-earth comes to Comic-Con

"The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" will premiere on Prime Video on September 2, 2022, but lucky fans who make the trek to Comic-Con (and are even more fortunate enough to make it to the variously highly in-demand panels) will get the chance to receive an early, exclusive look at what the series will have to offer. Sparing absolutely no expense, those behind the series will no doubt have saved some of the bigger reveals and absolute nerdiest details regarding Tolkien lore for those in attendance and (hopefully) for those who'll be streaming some of the panels online.

Set long before the events of Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit," "The Rings of Power" will take its cues from the appendices located at the end of "The Return of the King" novel and largely fill in the blanks of the Dark Lord Sauron's rise to power in Middle-earth. It's difficult to imagine how much the marketing has held back thus far, given what we've already seen in the various images and other first looks. We're probably due for another full-length trailer, at the very least, and somewhat more exciting posters than that parade of oddly hand-centric artwork we received a while back. Maybe a fresh look at the human-shaped Sauron himself? More details about Númenor, the island kingdom that the ancestors of Aragorn (played by Viggo Mortensen in the original trilogy) hail from? Perhaps even Peter Jackson himself, who may or may not be involved to some extent in this series, paying fans a visit again?

That's all speculation for now, but we'll find out soon enough when Comic-Con arrives on July 21, 2022.