The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has a chance to expand upon a number of intriguing side characters from The Lord of the Rings, including eight particularly fascinating figures. The Rings of Power season 2 is expected to turn the dial up and include some large-scale battles, but it should also have time to introduce some new characters. With that in mind, The Rings of Power‘s cast should continue to grow and integrate more of J.R.R. Tolkien’s iconic characters.
The climactic Rings of Power season 1 ending also showed that some of the iconic characters from the original Lord of the Rings trilogy can be included in the show. There are plenty of intriguing characters from the Lord of the Rings movies who hardly get any backstory, and The Rings of Power can take advantage of that by bringing in fan-favorites from the movies. Ultimately, there are eight characters from the original trilogy who should be included in The Rings of Power, so fans can finally understand their backgrounds.
One character mystery The Rings of Power can solve is the background of the terrifying Witch-king of Angmar. The Witch-king is probably Sauron’s most dangerous servant, as he demonstrates while leading his armies in the War of the Ring. However, little is known about the person the Witch-king was before becoming a Ringwraith. He must have been corrupted by one of the Nine Rings of Power to become a Wraith, and it’s often speculated that he was one of the three Númenorian lords who received a Ring.
Considering the role Númenor and the Rings already have in The Rings of Power, including the Witch-king doesn’t seem like much of a stretch. The series could easily choose a lord of Númenor to become Sauron’s ultimate servant, especially if the Rings are completed during the show, which could allow his transformation into a Wraith to be seen. Whether he is Númenorian or not, it would be great to learn more about the Witch-king’s background, since so little information is provided on him in The Lord of the Rings.
Another figure it would be interesting to see join the Tolkien characters already in The Rings of Power is the King of the Dead. Also known as the King of the Mountains, he was once the leader of a people sworn to follow Isildur into battle in his time of need. Little else is known about this king, except that he was cursed by Isildur for refusing to answer the call. He appears in Lord of the Rings when Isildur’s heir, Aragorn, offers them a chance to fight for him and fulfill their debt.
Since Isildur is already a key character in The Rings of Power season 1, it’s possible the show could include the King of the Dead’s oath of fealty to Isildur and provide some context around who he was before the curse. According to the books, the King of the Dead’s people once worshiped Sauron before swearing themselves to Isildur, which could make a compelling storyline in The Rings of Power. Regardless, he is another important side character from The Lord of the Rings that it would be nice to get some extra background on.
Arwen is another popular character from TheLord of the Rings who could do with some story expansion. Important as she is to the original trilogy, Arwen only appears in a few limited scenes, so there’s precious little revealed about her past in the main story. However, since Arwen is Elrond’s daughter and Elrond is one of Rings of Power‘s main characters, there is now an opportunity to learn more about her past. Elrond appears relatively young in Rings of Power, so it’s possible the show won’t get far enough to show his daughter, but anything is possible.
Further, Arwen’s maternal grandmother is Galadriel, linking her to the show’s main characters once again. However, Galadriel seems even less likely than Elrond to be having children any time during The Rings Of Power, so unless she and Celeborn had Arwen’s mother long before the events depicted in the show — which is entirely possible — then Arwen probably won’t appear. Still, The Rings of Power has no issues meddling with the timeline a bit to make the narrative more cohesive, so Arwen appearing isn’t out of the question.
Galadriel’s husband, Celeborn, is another character who only appears briefly in The Lord of the Rings but could be expanded upon in The Rings of Power. According to Tolkien’s works, Celeborn met Galadriel early in the First Age, and they quickly fell in love and were married. The Rings of Power takes place around the middle of the Second Age, so Celeborn and Galadriel are already married when the show takes place. However, Celeborn has been curiously absent from the show thus far.
Based on what Galadriel says to Theo about Celeborn in The Rings of Power season 1, she seems to think her husband is likely dead, so the show will have to deal with that eventually. Celeborn is also known for distrusting dwarves and considering the tension festering between dwarves and elves in season 1, he could easily slot into that storyline as well. With that in mind, it would be slightly disappointing if The Rings of Power didn’t take this golden opportunity to expand on Celeborn’s character.
The great spider Shelob is a terrifyingly memorable villain in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but little is revealed about her origins in the story. She is the enormous spider who nearly kills Frodo and Sam after Gollum leads them straight to her on the way to Mordor. Shelob is thought to be the greatest offspring of the primordial spider known as Ungoliant, and by the Third Age — when The Lord of the Rings takes place — she has made a home on the borders of Mordor, preying on anything foolish enough to cross her path.
Not much is known about Shelob in the Second Age, however, so The Rings of Power has plenty of room to play around with the giant spider. It would make sense to pay homage to the original story by having one of the characters encounter Shelob, and it would allow the show to expand on one of the most horrifying creatures in Middle Earth. Now that Sauron has been revealed, The Rings of Power could also include Shelob by bringing her into the newly formed Mordor.
Círdan the Shipwright is a fascinating character from Tolkien’s lore who only appears in the briefest of moments in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, appearing in the background when Frodo boards a ship at the Grey Havens to depart Middle Earth. He is also shown for a moment during Galadriel’s monologue at the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring, but his character is otherwise untouched in the movies. Círdan has a reputation for being one of the wisest elves, so The Rings of Power should consider expanding on him.
With the prominent role played by elves in The Rings of Power, it wouldn’t be overtly difficult to integrate Círdan’s character. He is known for his wisdom, so it would make sense to have him pay a visit to Celebrimbor and warn him of the dangers he’s creating with the Rings. Alternatively, he could easily appear in his role as the Master of the Grey Havens, as The Rings of Power season 1 already confirmed that elves have begun departing Middle Earth to return to Valinor forever.
Haldir is the elf who meets Frodo and the rest of the Fellowship on the outskirts of Lothlórien, agreeing to lead them to the city after some initial tension. Haldir later appears at the Battle of Helm’s Deep when Elrond sends him with 500 elves to join the fight against Sauron’s forces, but he is killed in the fighting when an orc takes him down from behind. Although Haldir has these two key appearances in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, not much else is known about him.
Haldir is a well-liked character in the movies, so it would make sense to use his character in The Rings of Power as well. Though the show takes place more than a thousand years before The Lord of the Rings, Haldir is not thought to be a young elf, so he is probably alive during Rings of Power as well. The show also plays with the timeline liberally, so nothing is stopping it from bringing Haldir back and giving fans some information on the elf’s past.
Treebeard, the ent who helps Merry and Pippin convince the other trees to fight against Isengard, is another character The Rings of Power should consider expanding on. Gandalf calls Treebeard the oldest living creature in Middle Earth, teasing a long and intriguing past for the ent, but little is known of his story. Gandalf clearly already has an acquaintance with Treebeard when they meet in Lord of the Rings, so The Rings of Power could experiment with Gandalf’s first interaction with the mighty ent.
Treebeard is also a fan-favorite from the films, and it would be fun to see what he might look like with modern special effects. Further, Treebeard chooses to help the hobbits in Lord of the Rings, so it’s possible that he had some history with the harfoots depicted in The Rings of Power. Between the connections to Gandalf and the potential connection to the harfoots, it suddenly seems possible that Treebeard could have a role to play in The Rings of Power.
