The eagerly anticipated, multi-season drama is titled 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power', The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. As the name suggests, the story follows the forging of the original rings of power that allowed Sauron to spread darkness across Middle Earth. "This is a title that we imagine could live on the spine of a book next to J.R.R. Tolkien's other classics. The Rings of Power unites all the major stories of Middle-earth's Second Age: the forging of the rings, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, the epic tale of Numenor, and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men," said showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay.
"Until now, audiences have only seen on-screen the story of the One Ring -- but before there was one, there were many... and we're excited to share the epic story of them all," the showrunners further noted. The news has also quashed the earlier rumours that the prequel would not feature the Sauron, the powerful, corrupting villain who also loomed over Peter Jackson's Oscar-winning 'The Lord of the Rings' films. The company also released this video teasing the title.
The previously released official description by the makers of 'The Lord of the Rings' read, "Lord of the Rings brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth's history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien's pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness."
"Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared reemergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Numenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone," the description further read.