When evil Sauron hit Singapore

The Rings of Power

If master fantasist, JRR Tolkien, who wrote Lord of the Rings (LOTR) trilogy, between 1937-49, was a young man in 2024 - or even in his mid-40s, for when he started - it's safe to suggest he would've been the showrunner of his own OTT series.

Tolkien (1892-1973), of course, lives on with LOTR, and his earlier work, The Hobbit, in books, and big screen. But more so, through the Tolkien Estate. With his grandson Simon as custodian of characters and stories that Tolkien Super Senior left behind, decades ago.

You can sense that as JD Payne, co-creator of The Rings of Power, explains to mid-day how a short prelude, and appendices from LOTR, is being expanded into a 50-hour series for Amazon Prime Video, as we speak. Recreating the Tolkien universe, but also imagining it anew - as a prequel, set thousands of years before Tolkien's tales.

The cast of The Rings of Power in Singapore

Payne's process goes something like this: "For each season, we write a document, that gives a summary of what we plan on doing, in detail. We share that [first] with the Tolkien Estate. They give us their thoughtful reflections. "Sometimes [the feedback from] Simon will say, ‘There's a corner in my grandfather's works, that could be more deeply explored. Thought about that?' ‘Or, what you're doing here is promising, but if you tweak it another way, could work better…' We welcome and value that contribution from the Estate - both, through this process, and throughout, as a working relationship."

As Payne puts it, this relationship with Tolkien Estate and grandson Simon as consultant, began right from when he and his partner, Patrick McKay, landed the job as showrunners on The Rings of Power. A tough task, no doubt. The show, in a sense, is supposed to be Prime Video's answer to HBO's Game of Thrones. Reportedly, HBO had also pitched for the Tolkien franchise. The budget for the five-season series has been pegged at $1 billion (over Rs 80,000 crore). Payne is quick to clarify: "Well, you should talk to Amazon about the money part."

That said, the sheer scale and splendour shows up on screen. Rather than simply in the drawing power of well-known actors, or stars, as it were. Ever since The Rings of Power debuted in September, 2022, ending in October that year. The second season with first three episodes dropped on August 29, 2024, with the season finale, slated for October 3. For brief press-meets and second season première, some of the major cast flew down to Singapore. This is alongside similar events in Mexico City, Sydney.

Consider actor Ismael Cordova, as he tells us where all he's been promoting his series, before we meet up in Singapore: "San Diego (California), NYC, Miami, Sao Paulo (Brazil), London, now off to Milan." Budgets be damned. He can't tell night from day! Puerto Rican actor of African descent, Ismael plays the solid Silvan Elf, Arondir, in The Rings of Power. That's a character created only for television, therefore non-canonical. Besides, he's the first person of colour to play an Elf.

Ismael admits, "Whether I want to carry that mantle or not - this is important to me, and it's gonna have an impact. [The Tolkien universe] is a beautiful space. We have the right to be in it. And I focus on being the ‘Elfiest Elf' there can be!' Arondir has a young warrior partner in Theo, that's actor Tyro Muhafidin, who was 14, when the series started shoot. He's 19 now.

Tired Tyro smiles, "There is nobody else, who can say I spent my teenage in Middle-earth." He did, in a village in Southlands, to be precise. Under the care of his mother, Bromwyn, played by Nanzanin Bonyadi. Bromwyn seemed like one of the show's stunning leads. Only, that actor Nanzanin opted out of the series, after the first season, choosing to pursue a career in activism.

Such off-screen twists must clearly throw the writing out of whack. Ismael says she had laid the groundwork: "I'm not privy to particulars of her decision." Be that as it may, for the entire arc of the Tolkien timeline, co-creator Payne informs, "We've mapped out [full] 50 hours of the series - in the sense of a road trip across the country, and the cities you'll hit along the way. But there's also room for exploration, improvisation, as you go along."

To be sure, Payne has even the show's last scene on paper that, at this rate, will drop in 2030? "Yes," he says. Spoiler alert: If you haven't caught the first season of The Rings of Power, you must skip this report and return, only once you have. This relates to the show's big twist. That the character pretending to be the ‘tragedy king' Halbrand, i.e. Charlie Vickers, mildly serenading the heroine Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), as her saviour, is actually the arch villain, Sauron.

This makes Charlie's presence in the show, a performance within a performance. "Inception," Charlie laughs, letting us in how he pulled off this striking act. Which was by "being Halbrand all along." He placed no spoilers in his own head. "That's how Sauron would've immersed himself - he's a method actor!" The other minor turn is Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Queen Regent Miriel, going blind, battling the evil Orcs. So much of an actor's confidence/presence comes through their eyes.

She says, "That's a good point. We thought about it. But this is also an allegory. [Miriel's] other senses heighten as a result - and what's going on, in terms of conflict, is more internal. Logistically, the challenge is, I can't connect the same way with fellow actors!" Queen Miriel belongs to Neumenor, whose residents are humans, if you may. As against Elves of Middle-earth, whom they descended from, but envy/hate.

Speaking of allegories, you could see parallels between countries in modern politics in this. We wonder what Cynthia makes of it. She passes on the mic to her chancellor in the series, Pharazon, played by Trystan Gravelle, who in turn, makes it clear: "Think about it. "There are two species of hominids. We are mortals, while the other, that is Elves, are immortal. That's gotta be galling - to be deemed second class citizens! No?" Yes. Trystan is evidently still in character.

The other political subtext in the series, one could argue, emanates straight from the villain, Sauron. Charlie says for his shapeshifting part, "He wants to rule. In the sense that he thinks he can heal Middle-earth." But he's also pure evil. Which can be said for plenty of devious, modern politicians (ancient too). Charlie agrees. Narrow it further still. It's interesting how Charles Edwards, who plays Celebrimbor, master-smith, forging powerful, eponymous rings in the series about power, likens his mythical role to physicist J Robert Oppenheimer (father of A-bomb).

Charles has never said this in an interview. It's been attributed to him across the Internet still. He corrects no one, because he agrees with the analogy, nonetheless: "[Here's a guy] dabbling with things he knows a lot about. But doesn't know how it'll come together." Same! To be fair, as The Rings of Power director Charlotte Brandstrom puts it plainly, echoing others in these short one-on-one interactions: "[As audiences], we're free to make the linkages we want. Tolkien didn't want to talk about specific country, era… Corruption and power [as issues] will remain valid [forever]."

This is perhaps also why Tolkien, like the Elves, remains immortal. Also, carrying along with his canon - a cult, for fans. You merely have to scour social media and fan-sites to sense the level of online outrage heaped on the show, purely because the cult, bordering on religion, would like nothing touched in Tolkien's parallel universe. In fact, the word ‘trolls' itself has origins in Middle-earth!

Surely, the cast and creators of The Rings of Power are aware of this expectedly purist backlash? Each person from the show that mid-day interviewed had roughly the same viewpoint on the matter. Summed up best by the genteel giant, Ismael, aka Arondir: "You do your job. And drop the mic."