Step into Middle-earth with EW's exclusive Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power photos

Welcome (back) to Middle-earth

Amazon Prime Video is setting sail for Middle-earth.

J.R.R. Tolkien's elaborate fantasy world will return to the screen this fall, with The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power debuting Sept. 2. Adapted and inspired by the appendices to Tolkien's iconic trilogy, this long-anticipated fantasy series is set thousands of years before Frodo or Bilbo Baggins were even born. Instead, the show will delve into Tolkien's Second Age, an epic era that charts the rise of Sauron, the fall of Númenor, and the forging of some very, very powerful jewelry.

EW has an exclusive sneak peek at the show, with interviews and new insight into this ambitious undertaking. Here, see all of EW's exclusive Rings of Power photos, and get key information about some of the show's new (and familiar!) faces.

First up: Meet the harfoots. These pint-size halflings are early predecessors to hobbits, and at this point in time they're nomads who haven't yet settled in the Shire. Some of the show's major players include Markella Kavenagh as Elanor "Nori" Brandyfoot, Sara Zwangobani as Marigold Brandyfoot, Dylan Smith as Largo Brandyfoot, and Megan Richards as Poppy Proudfellow.

Elf help

The Rings of Power is set thousands of years before the events of The Lord of the Rings, but that doesn't mean we won't see some familiar faces. Immortal elves like Morfydd Clark's Galadriel (center) and Robert Aramayo's Elrond (right) play a key role in The Rings of Power, as does the High King Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker, left), who rules over the golden realm of Lindon.

The dwarf lords, in their halls of stone

Another key location in The Rings of Power is the great dwarven kingdom of Khazad-dûm — better known as Moria in The Lord of the Rings. Long before the balrog moved in, this underground realm was a glorious haven for dwarves, home to craftsmen and leaders like Prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur) and Princess Disa (Sophia Nomvete).

A family affair

Across the sea, the great human civilization of Númenor flourishes, an island haven of arts and culture. This portrait showcases some of Númenor's key figures. From left: Leon Wadham as Pharazôn's son Kemen, Cynthia Addai-Robinson as the queen regent Míriel, Trystan Gravelle as advisor Pharazôn, Lloyd Owen as seafarer Elendil, Ema Horvath as Elendil's daughter Eärien, and Maxim Baldry as Elendil's son Isildur.

Southern charm

In the Southlands of Middle-earth, a group of elves (including Ismael Cruz Córdova's Arondir, center) keep watch over several remote human villages. Some of the Southland residents include healer Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi, left) and her young son Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin). Another key figure is the castaway Halbrand (Charlie Vickers, right), who crosses paths with Galadriel under mysterious circumstances.

Pint-size protagonists

Early in the show, two curious harfoots discover a strange, unnamed man (Daniel Weyman), who appears to have fallen from the sky in a fiery meteor. Together, the adventurous Nori (Markella Kavenagh, right) and the more cautious Poppy (Megan Richards) have to figure out whether they can trust him.

"Sometimes [Nori's] risk-taking can put other people in danger," Kavenagh teases. "But ultimately, she does it with the best of intentions."

'Gil-galad was an Elven king…'

In The Lord of the Rings, Samwise Gamgee briefly sings a song about the great elven king Gil-galad, an ageless hero who fell centuries ago in battle against Sauron. At the time of The Rings of Power, Benjamin Walker's regal ruler is holding court in Lindon, and he's fighting to halt evil's spread in Middle-earth.

"Everyone knows Gil-galad from that song that Sam sings, but there isn't a wealth of information about him in the text," Walker explains. "My favorite part is that he has this odd gift of foresight. He's prescient, and he's ahead of the curve. He can kind of feel the pulse of evil rising. He's attuned to the life force of Middle-earth, and he's chosen to stay."

Spotlight on the dwarves

Deep in the dwarven realm of Khazad-dûm, a group of dwarves have built a bustling civilization — a far cry from the abandoned mine that Frodo and his companions journey through in The Fellowship of the Ring. One key dwarf is Princess Disa (Sophia Nomvete, center), one of the first female dwarves to ever be depicted on screen.

Digging deep

Disa's husband is Durin IV (Owain Arthur), a brave and talented warrior who takes great pride in the dwarven kingdom of Khazad-dûm.

A future leader

Lord of the Rings fans know Elrond (Robert Aramayo) as the sage lord of Rivendell, but at the time of The Rings of Power, he's still a young, ambitious elf trying to make his way in the world.

"There's still a lot he has to learn," Aramayo says. "He's sort of battling with the past, or at least that's how I felt, anyway."

Hammer time

Another key figure from Tolkien's writing is Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards), a master craftsman living in the elf realm of Eregion. Arguably the greatest smith of the Second Age, this proud elf has lofty artistic ambitions — ambitions that lead to the forging of those titular rings of power.

Setting sail

Maxim Baldry plays Isildur, another name that should sound familiar to LOTR fans. In Tolkien's writing, the young Númenórean will grow up to be one of the era's great tragic heroes, slicing the ring from Sauron's hand only to ultimately fall under its spell of corruption. At this point, however, he's just a young sailor, following in his father Elendil's footsteps.

"He's one of the characters most ripe for deepening because everyone knows him," explains co-showrunner JD Payne. "He's most defined by his final, fatal decision to keep the Ring, when he has the chance to throw the Ring into Mount Doom and destroy Sauron forever, and he chooses incorrectly. We sort of said, 'How do we make that a tragic turn in an otherwise very human, relatable, and heroic arc?'"

A regal leader

When the series begins, Cynthia Addai-Robinson's Míriel serves as the queen regent of Númenor, overseeing the grand island kingdom.

"There's something relatable about how isolating that can feel and how you are grappling with things that no one else can really understand," Addai-Robinson teases. "You have very few people who you can confide in, and you're aware of the implications of any decision that you make. She is burdened with the responsibility of making decisions for the greater good and wanting to maintain some stability in Númenor, but she understands that there are rumblings. There's something in the air."

The Númenóreans prepare for battle

The great rulers of Númenor are descendants of Elrond's half-elven brother Elros, so they live much longer than ordinary humans. But Rings of Power picks up in the twilight of the great kingdom, as factions clash about remaining loyal to the elves and the angelic Valar in the west. Here, Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) leads her army into battle, alongside Isildur (Maxim Baldry, third from left).

"When it comes to playing a character that holds such a lofty position, I can't say that I necessarily relate to what it is to be a queen," Addai-Robinson says with a laugh. "But I think there is something relatable about how isolating that can feel, and how you're grappling with things that no one else can really understand."

Saddle up

In this shot, the elf Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) rides along the Númenórean coastline with Elendil (Lloyd Owen). Elendil is a legendary figure in Tolkien's writing, eventually clashing with Sauron. But here he's just a Númenórean sailor, and Owen cautions that although readers may think they know how certain characters' stories end, the journey can still hold surprises. "There are signposts on the way," Owen says. "Ultimately, those of us that know the lore know Elendil ends up helping to lead the Last Alliance of elves and men. But how he gets there? Tolkien hasn't written the man in three dimensions, and that's the gift of this [show]."

A trusted advisor

Welsh actor Trystan Gravelle plays Pharazôn, a close counsel to the queen regent. (Tolkien readers will know him as one of the major players in Númenor's eventual downfall.)

"When you see the set of Númenor, it's like you're walking through [Pharazôn's] mind," Gravelle teases. "When you see these epic statues and this wonderful masonry, you're walking through the mind of a person that's burdened by his own mortality and is very concerned about what legacy he's going to leave behind."

Behind the scenes

Wayne Che Yip (Doctor Who) directed four episodes of the series. (Here he's seen speaking to Cynthia Addai-Robinson and Trystan Gravelle on one of the show's Númenórean sets.)

"Tonally, we wanted [Rings of Power] to reflect [Tolkien's] main story points of friendship and good and evil," Yip explains. "One of the ideas is: How far into the darkness are you willing to go to do the right thing?"

Seeing red

Audiences probably know Galadriel as the regal leader played by Cate Blanchett in the Peter Jackson films. But at the time of The Rings of Power, Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) is much a younger elf (although still thousands of years old).

Doom scrolling

Morfydd Clark's Galadriel reviews historical documents in Númenor, accompanied by Lloyd Owen's Elendil.

Holding court

Cynthia Addai-Robinson's queen regent Míriel strikes a royal pose in Númenor.

From Middle-earth to SDCC

Maxim Baldry, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Lloyd Owen, and Trystan Gravelle cover Entertainment Weekly's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Comic-Con issue, which was exclusively available in San Diego. For more, check out EW's deep dive into the series.