Amazon MGM Studios released their first teaser trailer for the second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and it’s already being mocked and downvoted.
Ismael Cruz Córdova as Arondir in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2024), Amazon MGM Studios
Along with the trailer Amazon MGM Studios released an official description for the second season, “Sauron has returned. Cast out by Galadriel, without army or ally, the rising Dark Lord must now rely on his own cunning to rebuild his strength and oversee the creation of the Rings of Power, which will allow him to bind all the peoples of Middle-earth to his sinister will.”
It concludes, “Building on Season 1’s epic scope and ambition, Season 2 of Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power plunges even its most beloved and vulnerable characters into a rising tide of darkness, challenging each to find their place in a world that is increasingly on the brink of calamity. Elves and dwarves, orcs and men, wizards and Harfoots… as friendships are strained and kingdoms begin to fracture, the forces of good will struggle ever more valiantly to hold on to what matters to them most of all… each other.”
The trailer is already being massively disliked. It currently sits at 26,000 dislikes, but is rapidly growing. In contrast there are only 16,000 likes.
Screenshot of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power teaser trailer showing like to dislike ratio.
On top of the massive amounts of dislike the trailer is already receiving, viewers of the trailer are mocking it as well.
One wrote, “‘I think he has been here all along’ Maybe the real Sauron are the friends we made along the way?”
Another posted, “Elves: ‘Oh no, Halbrand is actually Sauron!’ Halbrand: puts on wig and pointy ears. Elves: ‘Where did he go? Must’ve been the wind…'”
“What impress me the most about this trailer,.. they haven’t turned the comments section off,” wrote another.
Still a fourth wrote, “Ah yes, nothing ushers me into the world of Middle Earth more than distorted electronic music.”
Screenshot of comments from The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 teaser trailer
One mocked the trailer by referencing Madame Web writing, “‘He was in the forest with my mom when she was researching spiders right before she died.’. Chills.”
“I like the bit where Gandalf shouts, ‘say hello to my little friend’, and then throws Nori at a group of orcs,” mocked another.
Another derided the trailer by referencing The Rise of Skywalker, “Somehow, Sauron has returned.”
Screenshot of comments from The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 teaser trailer
Another lampooned the trailer writing, “‘I think he’s been here all along’ no s**t Sherlock.”
“Hey, it’s the senior citizen elves with weirdly modern haircuts show, it’s back. For some reason,” needled one commenter.
“My favorite moment was when Galadriel exposes Sauron for weighing more than a duck,” wrote another.
One person did find a positive in the trailer, “And not a single mention of the Harfoots, there’s one improvement.”
Another mocked the trailer by referencing Madame Web, “Sauron was in Mirkwood with my mom when she was researching spiders just before she died.”
Screenshot of comments from The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 teaser trailer
Still more mocked the teaser, “Sauron a master shapeshifter!… Same ol dude with wig and pointy ears.”
“When Megatron came out and yelled, ‘WAKANDA FOREVER!’ I got chills,” derided one poster.
“So 3 months of ‘watch how the trailer was made’ ahead of us. Cool,’ wrote another.
“Somehow Rings of Power returned,” mocked another who referenced The Rise of Skywalker.
“I can’t wait to see Gandalf and Voldemort face off at the prancing pony,” wrote another.
Screenshot of comments from The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 teaser trailer
The amount of dislikes and derision the teaser trailer is receiving is not surprising given the first season’s reception. The show had a 38% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Rotten Tomatoes scores
Not only was the show poorly received by those who watched, but the show saw people tune out after watching the first couple of episodes. Kim Masters at The Hollywood Reported reported in April 2023, “While Amazon, like other streamers, provides only limited data — and internally, it held information even more closely than usual on the series — sources confirm that The Rings of Power had a 37 percent domestic completion rate (customers who watched the entire series).”
“Overseas, it reached 45 percent. (A 50 percent completion rate would be a solid but not spectacular result, according to insiders). The show has not been a major awards contender, either, overlooked by the major guilds with the exception of one SAG-AFTRA nomination for stunt ensemble,” she added.
Peter Mullan as Durin III in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2024), Amazon MGM Studios
What do you make of this first teaser trailer?
The casting just seems all around wrong. Granted I didn’t watch the first season but most of the cast just looks off, like they got some local theater group to star in a big budget show. And there’s just no feel of Middle Earth anywhere here. It’s like MTV’s version of Tolkien.
Anyone reading this, be sure not to watch the premiere in the fall…
I had trouble watching the first season and I think I tuned out after a couple of episodes. Now with the commercial breaks at Prime I will not watch that. The Trailer was only enjoyable because of the comment section ;D