The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power director Charlotte Brändström, cinematographer Alex Disenhof and VFX producer Ron Ames just unpacked Mordor's fiery origin sequence in the Prime Video show's first season.
The trio broke down the climatic moment when Mount Doom erupts in Season 1, Episode 6, "Udûn," during an interview with Variety. "There was this key that we had been teasing throughout Season 1, this broken sword," Disenhof said. "By putting it in this stone and turning, it would essentially unlock the dams that would then allow the water to flow underground into these tunnels… under the village all the way to the mountain, hitting the magma lava and causing the explosion, which is loosely based on real science and how it would cause something like that." Ames echoed Disenhof's comments, insisting that the crew leaned heavily on "true physics" when crafting the sequence.
For her part, Brändström was keen to emphasize the placement of the Mordor origin sequence within Episode 6's narrative, noting how it set The Rings of Power's heroes up for a false sense of victory. "They had won the battle, they felt they were out of it," she explained. "They felt that they were safe, everything was good. And that’s why I feel like it was such a surprise and so strong at the end of that episode because… it was completely unexpected when the water started spurting." Mount Doom's eruption is arguably the most spectacular sequence in The Rings of Power Season 1, and its creation of the land of Mordor will presumably play a key role in Adar (Sam Hazeldine) and his rotting Orc army's campaign to conquer Middle-earth in Season 2.
The Ring of Power Season 2's Rumored Two-Episode Battle
However, Adar and his forces still won't have an easy road to world domination, if a recent rumor is to be believed. Sources close to The Rings of Power claim that Season 2 will include an epic battle between the Elves of Eregion and Adar's Orcs that will run across two episodes. This oversized clash will supposedly see both Elrond (Robert Aramayo) and Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova) enter the fray and possibly even go up against Adar himself during the fighting. That said, as Amazon Studios is yet to officially confirm that The Rings of Power's second season features a two-episode-long battle, this rumor should be taken with a grain of salt for now.
Fans shouldn't have long to wait to find out for themselves exactly how big The Rings of Power Season 2's action set pieces are, though. The Lord of the Rings adaptation was largely unaffected by both the Writers Guild of America and SAG-ATRA strikes and recently wrapped filming on its next batch of episodes.
All eight episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 1 are currently streaming on Prime Video. Season 2 does not yet have a release date, but is expected to premiere sometime in 2024.
Source: Variety