In August, Amazon Prime will premiere their ridiculously ambitious, billion-dollar Lord of the Rings prequel series, The Rings of Power. While there’s tons of hype and anticipation surrounding this return to Middle-earth, there’s also a dash of apprehension. With that said, the show has support from all corners, including the stars of Peter Jackson’s beloved Lord of the Rings trilogy. Take Sean Astin (Samwise Gamgee), for instance, who recently talked about his feelings upon watching the teaser trailer.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is set thousands of years before the quest to destroy the One Ring, during the Second Age of Middle-earth when Sauron was ascending to power. That said, we can still expect to see some familiar names in the mix, including Elrond (Robert Aramayo) and Galadriel (Morfydd Clark). It looks absolutely beautiful, too:
Speaking at Calgary Expo 2022, Astin gave his verdict on the show after watching the teaser trailer. “I for one am excited,” he said. “I saw the preview for it, and it gave me chills. It looked like they got it.”
"I’ve been saying the whole time, they’re gonna do it right. There’s no way Amazon is gonna pay almost a billion dollars for a franchise just to screw it up."
On top of that, the new show will likely bring renewed attention to Jackson’s movie trilogy. The Return of the King came out two decades ago, but it’s never faded away. “You just think, how long before it will be fresh?” Astin asked. “For an entire, at least one or two generations, it’ll be brand new. They’ll end up discovering our version of The Lord of the Rings as a consequence of seeing what will be new to them.”
Am I jealous of new generations who get to experience the magic of the Lord of the Rings movies for the first time? Yes.
Sean Astin expects many more interpretations of Samwise Gamgee
Of course, Astin is best known for his portrayal of Samwise Gamgee. It’s one of those roles that you couldn’t imagine anyone else playing, like Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man or Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter. However, given the timeless nature of Tolkien’s work, Astin fully expects the story to be adapted again. He’s ready to embrace the next actor who plays Sam, whoever they may be.
“Tolkien, as a master storyteller, has created a work that will forever be reinterpreted,” Astin said. “Forever. I’m just one Samwise, there will be many, many Samwises to carry the torch of the ideas, the language, and the heart of that character.”
One thing is for certain: the next actors to play Samwise Gamgee has enormous shoes to fill.
Lord of the Elden Rings
If you want proof of how relevant Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films still are, just take a look at this TikToker who put Sam and Frodo Baggins into Elden Ring, the hugely popular high fantasy video game that came out in February:
"@p1cklel0verr #eldenring #lordoftherings #lort #videogame #funny #ringsofpower #videogame ♬ original sound – PickleLover"
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power debuts on September 2 on Amazon Prime. Before that, HBO will premiere their Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon on August 21. This is going to be a fun year for fantasy fans.
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h/t IGN