A beginner’s guide to the Tolkien-verse, before The Rings of Power drops on Amazon Prime

The Rings of Power dropped its final trailer this week, ahead of its world premiere in the coming week. But before you dive into the series, here’s are a few things to help contextualise the series for first-timers and long-time Tolkien fans alike.

Having purchased the much sought after rights to one of the most defining pieces of fantasy fiction of all time for a whopping $250 million, former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, an avid Lord of the Rings fan, saw to it that no cost was spared for this prequel series, by allocating an estimated $1 billion for the production of all five seasons.

Here’s the latest trailer for The Rings of Power:

The five seasons of the series have reportedly been planned out entirely, even up to the final shot to the final scene - the kind of rigour one would naturally expect when dealing with lore as expansive and intricate as Middle Earth.

But for those unfamiliar with the vast universe that stemmed from the brilliant mind of the late author, JRR Tolkien, here is a bit of a crash course to help you find your way around Middle Earth. And unlike certain rival fantasy prequels of late that claim no prior knowledge of their world is necessary before embarking on this new adventure, trust us, you’re gonna need it.

And there you have it. An expansive history of the Tolkien-verse summed up.

Within this context, The Rings of Power is set thousands of years before the events of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit took place, during the Second Age, at a time of growing unrest in Middle Earth. The series shall follow the forging of the titular Rings of Power by Sauron to the last alliance of Elves and Men and everything in between.

The first two episodes of The Rings of Power stream on Amazon Prime on September 2, 2022.