Rings of Power Star Explains How Show Sets up LOTR’s Tragic Isildur Story
Maxim Baldry, who is set to play Isildur in Amazon’s Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power opens up about how season 1 sets up his character’s tragic destiny. In 2017, Amazon acquired the television rights to The Lord of the Rings from the Tolkien estate for a record-breaking $250 million. Five seasons are planned for this epic, though Prime Video has only officially ordered two so far. Set during the Second Age of Middle-earth, the events depicted in The Rings of Power will take place thousands of years before the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films directed by Peter Jackson.
Played by Harry Sinclair in the prologue of Jackson’s version of The Fellowship of the Ring, Isildur, son of Elendil, was the King of Arnor and Gondor, and the distant ancestor of Aragorn. Fans of both the books and the films will know that Isildur was the man responsible for cutting the One Ring from Sauron’s hand with the shards of his own father’s sword. When pressed with the decision to destroy the Ring in the fires of Mount Doom, he tragically succumbed to temptation and decided to keep it as an heirloom instead. The Ring, however, would ultimately betray Isildur, and he was slain by a party of Orcs while the Ring itself was lost in the waters of Gladden Fields. Centuries later, the Ring would come into the possession of the halfling known as Smeagol, and ultimately lead to his transformation into the creature Gollum.
Related: Every LOTR Kingdom In The Rings of Power (& Middle Earth Explained)
Screen Rant spoke with Baldry during San Diego Comic-Con 2022 about his role on The Rings of Power and what season 1 has in store for his character. Suggesting that the show’s inaugural season will find the future king grieving the loss of his mother,
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