The Lord of the Rings and the entirety of JRR Tolkien’s writings are rich with stories that haven’t yet been explored on screen. The Rings of Power is diving deep into Tolkien lore and building on kernels of tales planted within Tolkien’s appendices and The Lord of the Rings to expand the mythology and investigate Middle-earth and its universe further.
The Prime Video series is telling the story of the Second Age and the making of the Great Rings amid the rise of Sauron – all of which happened before the well-known events of the Third Age recounted at length in The Lord of the Rings. So far, so riveting.
But there’s ample opportunity to adapt more, whether that means going off-piste for a two-character team-up meets small side-quest type scenario, or tackling another Age in the continuity. And with rumours of a spin-off already in the works, we asked some of the Rings of Power cast – naturally, in the interests of gauging a rounded response we asked a Númenórean, a Harfoot, and an Elf — what spin-off they’d like to see. Here’s what they said — and what members of our Lord of the Rings community also said they’d like to see.
The First Age
Maxim Baldry, who plays Isildur in the show (you know, the Númenórean who goes on to cut the Ring from Sauron’s finger), logically wants to explore the next part of the story. Or rather, the previous part of the story – the First Age. This era in Tolkien lore is marked by the rise and defeat of Morgoth, culminating in the War of Wrath which we see glimpses of at the beginning of The Rings of Power.
“The First Age would be lovely — to explore the creation of the Silmarils,” says Baldry. “They are just so beautiful, I’d love to know how beautiful they can really be.”
The Silmarils are the three powerful jewels created from the light of the Two Trees of Valinor by Celebrimbor’s grandfather Fëanor, whose achievements Charles Edwards’ Celebrimbor is seen trying to best in The Rings of Power. Morgoth – who was known as Melkor up to this point – stole the gems for himself and embedded them in his crown.
“Rise of Melkor I’d like to see, War of Wrath, Ancalagon the Black, etc… Be epic.” — Lord of the Rings community member Chamb2310
In The Rings of Power, Celebrimbor tells a story of how Morgoth became so captivated by the Silmarils that for weeks he “could do nothing but stare into their depths”.
The Elf continues, “It was only after one of his tears fell upon the jewels and he was faced with the evil of his own reflection, that the reverie was finally broken. From that moment, he looked upon their light no more. Fëanor’s work nearly turned the heart of the Great Foe himself.”
The story of the Silmarils and Morgoth’s reign of terror would be a mouthwatering next chapter in the screen adaptations for fans curious to see this huge part of Tolkien’s writings brought to vivid life. It would provide another prequel important to the overall saga and flesh out a key part of the mythology, from which the universe can then potentially springboard beyond the Third Age of Middle-earth.
“Rise of Melkor would be awesome!!!! I bet there would be a lot of great Nienna moments too!! I would be so excited for that! Being able to see all of my beloved Valar children on screen!! <3″ – Lord of the Rings community member Lanthanum12
A WandaVision-Style Gollum Love Story
From Celebrimbor and Fëanor to another Elf – High King Gil-galad, who is played by Benjamin Walker in The Rings of Power. Walker says that although we’ve seen quite a lot of Gollum onscreen, he’d be up for more.
“I would like to see a romantic comedy between him and the ring,” says Walker. “He’s alone in a cave, and they’re having these domestic moments. He’s, like, cooking dinner for it… and his decline, I think, would be potentially really funny.
“I think a series portraying the division and downfall of Arnor, or the kinstrife in Gondor would be an interesting concept for the spin-off series. And it can tie in with most likely the end of RoP if the show portrays the establishment of those two kingdoms.
Edit: I just realized because Amazon bought the rights to the appendices of LOTR they can pretty much make a Fourth Age show around the time of Aragorn’s time as king or even his son Eldarion.” — Lord of the Rings community member Robmpn3
“I joke but it’s also one of my favorite things about Tolkien — the idea that something that you love can consume you from the inside. I like that story. I like that Tolkien understood that about humankind. I think that could be in the vein of WandaVision … where the whole time he thinks he’s having this beautiful relationship but actually is becoming emaciated. And he wakes up and he’s, you know. When the Ring finally rolls away, he’s burst back into reality, and he’s feverishly looking for it. But the whole time, it’s this beautiful romance between him and the Ring.”
Another precious commodity, like the Rings and the Silmarils, in The Lord of the Rings is Mithril, the precious substance mined by the Dwarves and prized by the Elves, and we couldn’t let Walker go without asking for his take on The Rings of Power’s expansion of ore lore. The show gives us an origin story for the precious metal found below Khazad-dûm.
“A show that’s about the Valar hanging out in Valinor and their relationships with each other and them spending time together that’s somewhat wholesome while still touching upon important topics and themes. (Nienna would be the main character ofc.)” — Lord of the Rings community member Lanthanum12
The Mithril Myth
According to the legend, a lone Elf trying to protect a special tree said to contain the lost Silmaril from a Balrog intent on destroying it poured all of his light into the tree. At the same time, the Balrog’s fire lashed the tree and a bolt of lightning struck simultaneously. The merged energies travelled down the tree, through its roots and deep into the ground where the reaction resulted in the creation of Mithril.
Gil-galad describes Mithril thus: “as pure and light as good, as strong and unyielding as evil” and it is his belief that Mithril is the answer to the Elves’ dying light.
“A what-if type thing where every episode a different character gets a redemption arc thanks to Nienna who is the narrator.” — Lord of the Rings community member Lanthanum12
“It makes sense to me,” says Walker of the Mithril backstory created for the series. “In how myth permeates Elvish society and of the kind of seemingly repetitious nature of the joining of trees, the joining of good and evil — whether it’s the Silmarils or Mithril. I think it holds up.”
How does the Tolkien estate feel about the inclusion?
“It’s in there,” says Walker. “So you can assume that the Tolkien estate was like, ‘Great’.”
He continues, “I feel like because the showrunners [JD Payne and Patrick McKay] in particular have such an affection for the visual and imaginary vocabulary of Tolkien, I don’t feel like they’re ever going to play fast and loose with the source material. That anything that is, quote unquote, new is just a moment of freedom within the structure of Tolkien’s imagination. So, you know, there’s a world in which, if you haven’t read The Silmarillion, that’s, in chapter eight. You just missed it.”
“Fall of Gondolin would be my favorite. I think they could do this one in just a movie though. We’d get two balrog duels in one movie: Ecthelion v. Gothmog and Glorfindel v. another balrog. It would be epic.” — Lord of the Rings community member Light of Earendil
A Harfoot Story
Megan Richards plays orphaned Harfoot Poppy Proudfellow, who has a sisterly relationship with Nori Brandyfoot and a close bond with her friend’s family. We learn about the fate of her own family in an episode of The Rings of Power where the Harfoots are remembering their dear departed.
“They’re definitely very close,” Richards says of Poppy’s relationship with the Brandyfoots. “It’s the sort of thing that wherever they set up, the whole encampment, Poppy’s cart is always next to the Brandyfoot cart, and she’s always around there for dinner. It’s definitely chosen family but what feels like a very natural instinct. They just have a lot of affection and love for each other. I think the Brandyfoots definitely welcomed Poppy with open arms. And it was reciprocated.”
“A fluffy slice of life show detailing the misadventures of Tom Bombadil and Goldberry.” — Lord of the Rings community member Lanthanum12
With the Harfoots only briefly mentioned in Tolkien’s works, Richards would love to see a spin-off involving two of the Harfoot characters in The Rings of Power.
“There’s so many stories aren’t there? I’d love to see two of the most random characters come together, I think I would just absolutely love that,” she begins. “Do you know what sort of series I would love to see [actually]? Malva and Sadoc. I’d love to see that; that would be absolutely hilarious and brilliant because they are both so fabulous.”
“Aragorn pre-LOTR. There’s some good stories in there, including when he disguises himself as Thorongil to ride with Rohan and raid Umbar. Roaming around with Elladan and Elrohir. It would be good.” — Lord of the Rings community member Light of Earendil
Malva & Sadoc
Sadoc Burrows, played by Lenny Henry, is an elder in the community, responsible for collecting the records of what happened: “when, how, what was the sky doing? What were the stars doing? He’s the keeper of those books,” Sir Lenny Henry told us.
He’s also a substitute parent whenever the parents aren’t around and helps to make sure that the other Harfoots are doing what they’re supposed to be doing.
“An animated anthology show that explores different notable events in the history of Arda in animated shorts set to music. It plays around with a lot of different animation styles. Everything is better as an animated anthology set to music after all.” — Lord of the Rings community member Lanthanum12
Malva Meadowgrass, meanwhile, is a stickler for order and is always ready to chastise Nori and Poppy. She is frequently in Sadoc’s ear encouraging him to remain firm. Malva is played by Thusitha Jayasundera. Though it might seem as though Malva has it in for Poppy and Nori, Richards says that’s not the case.
“I think there’s definitely a sense of tradition, that Poppy can also understand,” she says. “There’s a certain set of rules that the Harfoot community live by in order to survive. And I think what Malva says, especially in Episode Three, is we need to do these things in order to survive. It’s written down. I think that’s probably where [any hostility] comes from. And I think it also the Harfoots are also scared in that moment [when The Stranger is revealed], and people say things when they’re scared, don’t they?”
What The Lord of the Rings spin-off would you like to see after The Rings of Power? Let us know via Twitter or on the discussion pages of the wiki!
Keen for more? Check out the cast of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power reacting to fan theories and favourites in the article below: