The fight is coming to Middle-earth, and there’s no stopping it. That’s right, the highly anticipated third season of Amazon MGM Studios' The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is upon us, and there’s a lot to unpack. In just under a hundred seconds, LOTR fans witnessed the inception of a lore they had longed to see in its infancy.
The teaser trailer for The Rings of Power season 3 was showcased at Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con—fair warning, it’s as dark and edgy as it can get. The golden age of peace and prosperity is over as Sauron claims his throne in Mordor. The LOTR prequel series spent most of its first two seasons building Tolkien’s world as it was before The Fellowship of the Ring. We see the world of elves and men before darkness claimed their lands and the ultimate rise of the Dark Lord.
We knew about the rings but never how they were conceived, and now it's time to witness the epic forging of the one ring that rules them all. The trailer is packed with glimpses of Sauron’s rise to power as he gathers his forces and builds the true source of his power. There are many returning characters and new faces who will join in on the greatness that awaits those who stand tall against the lurking darkness. Here’s everything that you may have missed in The Rings of Power trailer.
Sauron’s dark servants make their deadly appearance
Eagle-eyed fans have been waiting for Sauron’s most-feared agents to enter the scene. Fortunately, The Rings of Power season 3 trailer was kind enough to give glimpses of the infamous Ringwraiths, or the Nazgûl. Mortal men corrupted by the Rings of Power, the Nazgûl are Sauron’s most terrifying henchmen, especially the Witch-king of Angmar.
Now, it's not certain from the trailer whether the Nazgûl featured in the clip is the evil Witch-king. Moreover, it looks like the series might be skipping over the Sauron enslaving mortal men routine because the trailer shows them in their iconic attire out and about doing the Dark Lord’s bidding. We see one or two in the forest, chasing after someone, while another seems to appear at Durin’s mountain, probably getting ready to attack the dwarves.
Interestingly, the series will use a different nomenclature for the Nazgûl, referring to them as the Nazgnagol, which translates to "king servant." This could hint that the show will delve deeper into their origins, potentially depicting the process of their transformation from mortal men into servants of darkness and, eventually, the terrifying wraiths they become.
The fell beasts give serious Game of Thrones vibes
It may not have been intentional, but a winged dragon-like creature flying in the sky in the trailer gave serious Game of Thrones vibes, just like when Drogon’s shadow stalked the tiny houses in King’s Landing, foreshadowing the coming destruction. The last fans saw of these terrifying beasts was in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings movies as a ride for the Nazgûl.
The fell beasts are shown twice in the trailer: first as a silhouette against the full moon in the sky, followed by the iconic Nazgûl screech. The second is when the fell beast is crawling down on a balcony that looks like Barad-dur in Mordor, Sauron’s dark fortress and the center of his powers. It’s possible that the scene might be an extension of how Sauron created his dark beings of destruction and his iconic Dark Tower.
Celeborn makes his highly anticipated appearance
Fans have long been skeptical of how The Rings of Power cast aside a character as important as Celeborn. Since Galadriel's origins and her rise to power are one of the main focuses of the show, it felt odd that her husband was cast aside as easily as being ‘lost’ in battle. Fortunately, not only do we finally get a glimpse of Jamie Campbell Bower’s Celeborn, but his appearance in the trailer may have also proven a popular fan theory correct.
Many were assuming that Celeborn would appear at some point in the story and that he might have been captured by the evil forces rather than being killed in combat. In the trailer, Galadriel is shown fighting orcs in a place that more or less resembles Mordor. If that's so, and if that’s where she finds Celeborn, then it proves that he has been Sauron’s prisoner all along.
Of course, Celeborn’s entrance was long overdue when compared to the lore, but it seems that he arrives at a critical point to support Galadriel. Glimpses of their joyful moments, which definitely look like memories of the past, show up in the trailer along with new moments of tenderness. It’s worth mentioning here that Bower looks absolutely breathtaking in his new role, and we are excited to see how he executes a character like Celeborn.
Númenor and the elves prepare for a battle
Númenor will play a central role in the war to come; maybe that’s why we see Elvin emissaries walking alongside the new leader of Númenor, Pharazon. It’s hard to tell from the brief moment whether it was actually Gil-galad walking beside Pharazon or someone else, but it's likely there’s going to be some form of collaboration between elves and men.
There is a strong likelihood that this could happen because, in another shot, we see an armored Pharazon and Gil-galad standing side by side, probably getting ready for war. It seems that after what happened in season 2, Gil-galad will be looking to scout all the help he can get against Sauron’s armies.
Sauron forges the One Ring
Some of the trailer's most stunning moments undoubtedly unfold against a vivid golden and amber backdrop as Sauron forges the One Ring. We get several shots of Mordor, Mount Doom, and Sauron in his crown as he condenses his powers and forces to wage war on Middle-earth.
The trailer hints that the show might be spending a healthy amount of time on the ring-making process. In one scene, Sauron is shown standing at the edge of a mountain with crevices of molten lava beneath, implying that those might be the fires of Mount Doom in which the Dark Lord crafts the One Ring.
Apart from all the evil fire and lava, another eye-catching detail in the trailer is definitely the reappearance of Fëanor's hammer. It was previously used by Celebrimbor and Sauron to help forge the Rings of Power, but it seems that Sauron saved it for one last project. He is seen raising the hammer, presumably in Mount Doom.
The trailer also featured a mold with writings similar to the ones on the One Ring. This could very well be the original design of the ring, or it could be just a cog in the machine, a small part of a grander and more complicated process of forging the One Ring. Lastly, the clip comes to a close as Sauron holds a single golden ring in a pair of tongs, which we can safely say must be the One Ring to Rule Them All.
There are countless questions that we need answered, and they will be answered on November 11, 2026.
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