The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 SDCC Trailer Breakdown

Love it or hate, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power dropped an undeniably impressive trailer for its upcoming second season at San Diego Comic-Con 2024. There’s a lot going on in this extended sneak peek, so check out our full breakdown of the Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 SDCC trailer below.

Related: Who Plays Adar in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2?

Sauron’s Mission to Become Middle-earth’s Ring Leader Is Revealed

The SDCC trailer kicks off with Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) laying out Sauron’s (Charlie Vickers) gameplan in The Rings of Power Season 2: he’s going to conquer Middle-earth by ensnaring its higher-ups with magic bling. Hammering this home, the trailer depicts Galadriel gazing at her ring, Nenya, clearly seduced by it. Is this a nod to the Lady of Light’s famous One Ring-related freak out in The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring? Probably. Not everyone is sold on the Rings of Power, though. Elrond (Robert Aramayo) brands all the ringbearers “collaborators” and warns Galadriel that Sauron could be controlling them through their fingerwear. He wants the rings destroyed (stepping on the Fellowship’s quest in The Lord of the Rings proper).

Introducing Annatar: The Sharer of Gifts

The Rings of Power Season 2’s SDCC trailer then shifts focus to Sauron himself – or rather, Annatar. That’s Sauron’s new disguise this time around, and unlike his Halbrand identity in Season 1, it’s actually cribbed from J.R.R. Tolkien’s original lore. As in the books, Annatar means “sharer giver of gifts” (that’s not the exact translation, but close enough), and Sauron uses this angelic persona to hoodwink Elven smith Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) into helping him forge the rings for Men and Dwarves. This sets up an interesting wrinkle: some elves (Galadriel, Elrond, and Benjamin Walker’s Gil-galad) know that Annatar is really Sauron; others (Celebrimbor and his assistants) don’t. Celebrimbor screaming “What have you done to me?” towards the end of the SDCC trailer indicates he’ll eventually get wise – but not before it’s far too late.

Related: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Who Plays Sauron in Season 2?

The Stranger Finds His Purpose (But Not His Name) in Rhûn

Next, the spotlight turns from Sauron’s sneaky smithery to Gandalf The Stranger (Daniel Weyman) and Nori Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh) in Rhûn. We get a decent look at the Easterling locals and their exotic armor, as well as a quick glimpse at some white-robed Sauron worshippers like those in Season 1. However, the real point of this section is the Stranger’s ongoing journey to figure out his role within Middle-earth’s brewing conflict. “Is it my task to the stop the fire?” he asks Tom Bombadil (Rory Kinnear). “Is it my task to face Sauron?” The Stranger’s obviously daunted by his apparent purpose, but a pep talk from Tom will apparently help. This doesn’t really jibe with Tolkien’s vision of Tom – who’s comically unphased by the whole “battle of good vs. evil” thing – no matter what showrunners J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay say. But hey, we also get to see the Stranger channelling his Wizard powers through his staff, which is in keeping with OG Middle-earth canon.

Darkness Rises in Middle-earth (In More Ways Than One)

Intercut with the Stranger’s soul-searching are several shots that tease submerged darkness coming to the fore, literally and figuratively. Literally, in that the Balrog teased in Season 1 appears to have burst forth to plague Durin IV (Owain Arthur), Disa (Sophia Nomvete), and the other denizens of Khazad-dûm. Figuratively, in that shady Númenorean chancellor Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle) appears to have fully given in to his evil impulses, communicating with Sauron via a palantír. Similarly, when Durin IV begs his father Durin III (Peter Mullan) to slip off his magic ring, he gets a superhuman backhander for his troubles. So, all told, the moral corruption is really bubbling over in The Rings of Power Season 2!

Related: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Who Made the Dwarven Rings?

Our Heroes Face a War on Two Fronts (Also: Spiders)

As the Rings of Power Season 2 SDCC trailer enters the home straight, blockbuster action takes priority. It looks like all-out war has finally come to Middle-earth – and our heroes will have to fight on multiple fronts. Aside from Sauron, there’s also Adar (Sam Hazeldine) and the Orcs, Trolls, and other fearsome beasties from his newly minted realm, Mordor. A flurry of clips feature various characters – including Elrond, Galadriel, and Ismael Cruz Córdova’s Arondir – slugging it out with Adar’s forces. There’s also a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it shot of Adar seemingly stabbing Durin III with his own crown! A scuffle between Isildur (Maxim Baldry) and an oversized spider (young Shelob, maybe?) makes a brief appearance, too. On the plus side, the forces of light have at least one new heavy-hitter in their corner, in the form of an as-yet-unnamed Ent.

Sauron’s Ready to Recruit His Ringwraiths

The SDCC trailer’s final moments tease some of Lord of the Rings‘ most iconic supporting baddies: the Nazgûl, AKA the Ringwraiths. “You will give me the Nine,” Sauron growls at Celebrimbor, presumably referring to the nine rings he will eventually bestow on the future Ringwraiths. Will we actually see the Nazgûl in The Rings of Power Season 2? Probably not – or at least, not pre-transformation. True, there’s a bunch of spectral figures early on in the trailer; however, they almost certainly aren’t the Ringwraiths (our money is on them being wights). Regardless, Sauron is clearly ready to recruit his most deadliest servants in Season 2!

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 premieres on Prime Video on August 29, 2024.