Season 2 of ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ introduces Barrow-wights, scary creatures never seen in live-action before.
Barrow-wights are ancient heroes brought back to life and forced to act for evil. Jason Smith, the visual effects supervisor for the show, shared his excitement with Empire. He said the scenes with Barrow-wights feel like a mini horror movie set in Middle-earth:
“The Barrow-wights are ancient, reanimated heroes, acting for evil against their will. It was super-exciting to take on something I hadn’t seen before. We’ve seen undead before, but not like this. We’re doing a little horror movie in Middle-earth.”
Fans can catch a first look at these ghoulish beings on the latest cover of Empire Magazine. It also features special art by Einar Martins for subscribers. You can see a photo of the cover below.
Photo Credit: Empire Magazine
New Season Has Another Major Highlight
…And it’s Sauron. After being cast out by Galadriel, Sauron must use his cunning to rebuild his strength and create the Rings of Power, which will allow him to control all the people of Middle-earth. Charlie Vickers, who plays Halbrand (now revealed as Sauron), says the following about his new approach to the character:
“Now it’s out in the open. I guess that’s where the difference is. And it’s in the writing mainly. We get to see Sauron openly doing his thing, at least from the audience’s perspective. The other characters don’t know, but I think for me, it’s quite interesting to be able to play things a bit more with the knowledge that the audience is in on it with me now. It informs some of the decisions I make.”
Prime Video teases that the new season will put even the most vulnerable characters into challenging situations as darkness rises. The forces of good will struggle to hold onto what matters most to them: each other.
