Galadriel, Elrond, Sauron: Three of the most important characters from “The Rings of Power” also play an important role in the “Lord of the Rings” films and books and should therefore be known to many. In the third episode of the Amazon series, however, two more well-known, albeit less prominent characters are added: Isildur (Maxim Baldry) and Elendil (Lloyd Owen) – and all fans should know Elendil’s sword.
It’s Narsil, the same sword that Isildur uses to cut the ring from Sauron’s finger in the prologue of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, and which is finally seen in Rivendell. In The Return of the King, Elrond (Hugo Weaving) then has the sword reforged and the Pieces of Narsil become Andúril, the Flame of the West – the Sword of Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen).
Amazon / Warner Bros.
Narsil in “The Rings of Power” and in “The Fellowship of the Ring”
But why does Narsil look so different in the Amazon series than in the Lord of the Rings movies? There is a simple explanation for this: “The Rings of Power” is NOT a prequel to the Peter Jackson trilogy, but an independent story.
While those behind The Rings of Power own the rights to JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and its Appendices, as well as The Hobbit for legal reasons it is not the same world as in the popular movieswhich after all were produced by Studio Warner and not by Amazon.
» “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” on Amazon Prime Video*
Despite certain similarities in design, music (the series’ title theme comes from The Lord of the Rings composer Howard Shore) and overall look (The Rings of Power was also filmed in New Zealand) So there will always be clear differences between series and films – and this is shown by the example of Narsil.
But what stays the same in The Rings of Power and The Lord of the Rings films is the importance of Narsil: As already mentioned in the introduction, Narsil is of crucial importance in defeating Sauron – and the battle that began The Fellowship of the Ring actually takes place at the end of the Second Age of Middle-earth, which is also the setting for The Rings of Power.
It is very likely that we will also get to this point in the history of Middle-earth in the planned five seasons of The Rings of Powerso that Narsil is allowed to cut the One Ring from Sauron’s finger here as well – only that the sword looks different here and Isildur and Elendil are played by different actors.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Episode 4 will be released on September 16, 2022 at 6 a.m. on Amazon Prime Video. You can also find out more about Narsil in the above video from our YouTube moderator Sebastian from minute 4:55.
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