news culture The Lord of the Rings The Rings of Power: We finally know what the orcs will look like in the Amazon series!
Since the broadcast of the first Rings of Power trailer, the series produced by Amazon for Prime Video has gradually presented its universe and its characters. A way to reassure fans of the Lord of the Rings universe, but also to quietly raise the “hype” until September 2.
A known cast, but still discreet creatures
We have already seen Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), Eldrond (Robet Aramayo)Arondir (Ismael Cruz Cordova), the Hobbits Harfoot Sadoc Burrow, (Sir Lenny Henry), Poppy Proudfellow (Megan Richards), Largo and Marigold Bradyfoot, (Dylan Smith and Sara Zwangobani), but also the dwarves Durin IV (Owain Arthur) and Disa (Sophia Nomvete). We also know that Isildur, the one who ended up defeating Sauron, will be embodied by Max Baldrythat Celebrimborthe blacksmith elf, will be played by Charles Edwards, or that Lloyd Owen will play Elendil.
Finally, we only had so far that a glimpse of the representatives of free peoples. Amazon had until now presented none of the evil creatures working for Morgoth and Sauron. Things have just changed since IGN has obtained an exclusivity allowing to broadcast before everyone else the first images depicting killer whales (or goblins, depending on location) Rings of Power.
The appearance of orcs revealed and explained!
As you can see, they look slightly different of that of the creatures of Peter Jackson, put one finds without any shadow of a doubt the paw of John Howe, mythical illustrator linked to Tolkien and Jackson, who participates in this adventure. The differences are primarily due to the fact that these creatures, born from the torture of the elves, were largely decimated by the end of the First Age, and that they advance in scattered ranks in several regions of the world. They are therefore quite few in number, determined, and equipped in a much more disparate way. To find out more, our colleagues went to meet Lindsey Weber and Jamie Wilson, executive producer and head of prosthetics respectively.
Well, I love Orcs. I love creature design, so I’m very happy to talk about that stuff. The very first page of JD and Patrick’s bible, the showrunners, was about Orcs. They have a real passion for them, they love practical prostheses and design, and they felt they needed to do some research as we are in the Second Age and thousands of years before the events of the Third Age. .
It was really important for them to treat them as if they had their own culture and to explore their world (…). It seemed fitting that they looked different, part of a wilder, rawer, Second Age Middle-earth, closer to the end of the First Age. At the time we meet them, they are not yet organized into armies (…), indicated Weber.
Orcs are born in the pits by obscure reproductive processes that are rarely detailed. But it seems we can considering seeing more on the show, though Lindsey Weber said she doesn’t want to say too much. On the other hand, she explained that if their appearance was not as “dented” as in The Lord of the Rings, it is simply because the young orcs lived fewer battles than their Third Age descendants.
I described them to my team as “baby” versions. They’re not really babies, but they’re the ones coming out of the dark. (…) So, for example, if you watch past films about them, you see that they are quite damaged and battle-scarred and all that, because there have been a lot more battles. (…) There are still wrinkles, fine lines and shapes, but they are not so marked by the battle. They do, however, face certain skin conditions due to their exposure to the sun.
As a reminder, the series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power takes place in the Second Age, during the progressive ascent of Sauron, the creation of the Rings, the fall of Numenor, and the offensive against Valinor. To find out all about it, go to September 2, 2022 on Amazon Prime Video.
