‘Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ Teaser Shows Galadriel’s Terrifying Vision, Man Wreathed in Fire, Adorable Harfoots

Middle-earth is coming to Amazon Prime Video, and while all seems at peace, a gathering storm threatens to lay it all to waste.

That’s the general vibe for the latest teaser trailer for “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” which the streamer released on Thursday, giving viewers a more detailed look at Prime Video’s highly anticipated series set within J. R. R. Tolkien’s beloved fantasy world.

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The two-and-a-half-minute preview focuses primarily on the two characters who also appear in Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” film trilogy from the 2000s: Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Elrond (Robert Aramayo), as they debate Galadriel’s dogged belief that a shadowy enemy believed to be vanquished is still very much a looming threat. As Galadriel is considerably older than Elrond (he eventually marries her daughter), she does not find his assurances that he knows from darkness to be all that comforting. “You have not seen what I have seen,” she says darkly, before we’re given a glimpse of horrific death and destruction witnessed by Galadriel.

However, for those unfamiliar with the story of the Second Age of Middle Earth (thousands of years before the events of “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” and “The Hobbit”), the teaser does not offer much more by way of what the show’s central narrative will be. Instead, we’re provided a healthy showcase of all the various realms of Middle Earth that the series will depict, like the underground Dwarven kingdom of Khazad-dûm, the wooded Elven realms of Lindon and Eregion, and especially the fabled island kingdom of Númenór. We get another glimpse of the lives of harfoots, the nomadic predecessors of hobbits. And we’re led to understand that the fiery object seen careening through the skies and crashing into the ground in last week’s “The Rings of Power” sneak peak somehow contained a man.

Tolkien fans, on the other hand, already have a decent sense of what’s in store in “The Rings of Power,” which is based on supplementary material created by the author to flesh out the world and history of Middle-earth. The Second Age covers the rise of the dark lord Sauron, his creation of the titular rings, and the subsequent fall of Númenor — events that took place over the course of many centuries in Tolkien’s timeline.

Beyond Galadriel and Elrond, “The Rings of Power” other cast members in the sprawling ensemble include Maxim Baldry, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Charles Edwards, Lenny Henry, Markella Kavenagh, Simon Merrells, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Charlie Vickers, Benjamin Walker, Daniel Weyman, Dylan Smith and Sara Zwangobani.

Amazon Studios began developing “The Rings of Power” in 2017, spending $250 million to purchase the rights to the make the series from the Tolkien estate. The series will likely be the most expensive television show in history, with Prime Video reportedly spending roughly $465 million on the eight episode first season. Prime Video also reportedly made a commitment to produce five seasons of the series as part of its deal with the Tolkien estate.

“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” was developed for Amazon by showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, who serve as executive produce with Lindsey Weber, Callum Greene, J.A. Bayona, Belén Atienza, Justin Doble, Jason Cahill, Gennifer Hutchison, Bruce Richmond and Sharon Tal Yguado. Ron Ames and Christopher Newman produce. The series is directed by Bayona, Wayne Che Yip and Charlotte Brändström.

The first season of “The Rings of Power” will premiere Sept. 2. A second season has already been ordered. Watch the trailer below.