For full transparency, I covered my own costs of travel and lodging for this trip. I was not paid to write about my experience at Comic-Con, and I remain cautiously optimistic about the show. I was actually not aware that I’d be invited to lunch with the cast before I booked my flight so it was a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.

As I’m flying home from my first-ever San Diego Comic-Con, I wanted to take this time to write about my experience and thoughts about the events I was able to attend. The whole trip was a bit overwhelming and exhausting but I’m so glad I was able to go, especially as I’m so pregnant at this point! Everyone I encountered on the trip was so kind and helpful, and I really am so thankful for this once in a lifetime experience.

Rings of Power Cast Luncheon

On Thursday, I was invited to a private luncheon with the Rings of Power cast. I was able to spend time chatting with several different cast members, as well as having the incredible privilege of listening in as the Tolkien experts on either side of me conversed with the cast. Because of the way we were all seated at the tables, I was primarily able to chat with Ismael Cruz Córdova (Arondir), Maxim Baldry (Isildur), Charles Edwards (Celebrimbor), Benjamin Walker (Gil-galad), and Sophia Nomvete (Disa).

In particular, I really enjoyed speaking with Sophia about her experience portraying Disa, especially as it was so closely tied to her journey as a new mother. Sophia recalled that she found out she had been chosen for the role as Disa when her daughter was only five days old, and that her costumes had been made with hooks so that she would be able to nurse her child between takes. Hearing that the studio was willing to support Sophia as a mother in this way was really touching. When a friend mentioned to Sophia that I am currently seven months pregnant, she was eager to congratulate me and wish me well.

That being said, all of the cast members were extremely gracious and seemed genuinely interested in listening to our thoughts on what we’ve seen of the show so far. I’m looking forward to seeing their characters come to life as the show begins.

The Rings of Power Hall H Panel

After the luncheon on Thursday, I found my spot in the Next Day Line for Hall H as I was hoping to make it into the Rings of Power panel the next day. We finally received our wristbands around 9:30pm, and then I rejoined the line around 5:30am the next day. Around 9:00am, we were finally allowed to find our seats within the massive hall and wait for the panel to begin at 10:30. It was such a massive ordeal to get into Hall H, I don’t think I’d ever do that again but I’m glad I made it in this time.

As I had never been into Hall H before, I wasn’t sure what to expect. A few months ago I had heard rumors that Amazon was possibly planning some kind of immersive experience and had been hoping for something of the sort, but this event was simply a regular panel (with a few surprises thrown in). I noticed that the House of Dragons show had set up an immersive experience outside of the convention center and it would’ve been very neat to see Rings or Power doing something similar — perhaps next year.

As the panel began we were treated to an orchestra performance conducted by Bear McCreary, the composer for The Rings of Power. I believe what was played was a medley of the different themes he’s written, but I haven’t seen it confirmed.

We were also quite surprised when Stephen Colbert was introduced as the host. Colbert immediately began gushing about how much he loves our friend Corey Olsen’s podcast, though I was so sad to hear after the panel that Corey had not been able to get in to hear it. Colbert seemed equally as excited as many of the fans in the hall, though I was a bit disappointed in his attitude towards some fans in the audience when it came time for him to respond to them. It can certainly be easy to feel a sense of superiority when one knows a great deal about Tolkien’s lore but I would carefully remind folks of all levels of experience that it’s not a competition, Tolkien is for everyone, be kind to your fellow fan, and please check the pronunciation guides in the back of the book!

The panel was split into segments during which different members of the cast and production were brought out, beginning with Patrick McKay, JD Payne, and Lindsey Weber (the show-runners and producer) and followed by the cast members.

Several members of The One Ring staff and myself had delegated the tasks of taking notes on the different aspects of the panel, so my focus was on Patrick McKay, JD Payne, and Lindsey Weber. I’ve included a portion of my notes below, but I will add a link to The One Ring’s collaborative article once it’s gone live on their site.

Several different clips were shown throughout the panel, including the release of the full trailer for the show. I will share my thoughts on the trailer at a later date, once I’ve had some time to sort out my thoughts on it. I remain cautiously optimistic about the show, and while I know it will not be perfect I do think it will be good.

Highlights from the Show-runners and Producers

All quotes are paraphrased as I was not recording. These notes do not reflect my own opinion of the show, but are an account of what was said during the panel.

When asked what the first season was about, Payne replied that at the core of the story is the question, “How far into the darkness would you go to protect what you love.” McKay emphasized that Tolkien wrote a truly optimistic work. It’s born of pain and struggle and evil and still comes out at the end with a message of hope. Season One of The Rings of Power will be about reintroducing the world of Middle-earth onto the screen and drawing the audience into this new tale as evil slowly returns to its realms.

Season One of The Rings of Power will be about reintroducing the world of Middle-earth onto the screen and drawing the audience into this new tale as evil slowly returns to its realms.

When asked how daunting it was to take on the material knowing how sacred it is to Tolkien fans, McKay replied that there was no one who could put more pressure on them than themselves; he noted that he’d been disappointed before as a Tolkien fan and wanted to do everything he could to avoid disappointing others.

When asked how they approached working with non-canonical characters, Payne replied that they had worked with Tolkien scholars like Tom Shippey, linguists, and lore masters in the development of the show. He felt that Tolkien had left clues throughout his works and that they took these and followed them. The show-runners emphasized that when in doubt, they always back to Tolkien, and if Tolkien did not specifically address something then they drew from the great myths of our own world.

The One Ring x Rings of Power Event

Friday evening, I had the joy of attending a party hosted by TheOneRing.net in collaboration with Prime Video. All attendees received a limited edition art print from The Rings of Power, and those who had won a ‘golden mallorn’ ticket during the Comic-Con events were able to have these prints signed by the cast members at the event. Cosplay was heartily encouraged at the event and it was incredibly fun to see so many people dressed up.

Our friend Lauren (@laurendoescosplay) came in the stunning Galadriel costume that he had re-created from the promotional shots of Rings of Power, and we were all over the moon when we heard that she had been able to meet Morfydd Clark.

The best part of the event, and all of the events really, was being able to spend so much time with many of the Tolkien scholars and creators that I had met in London. By this point, everyone feels like an old friend so being able to see them again was such a gift. I’m so grateful to have been included in such a wonderful group of people who loved Tolkien as much as I do (and many of them know much, much more about him than I do as well!).

Onto the Next Journey

While Comic-Con is going on for a few more days, and I believe there is one last Middle-earth panel happening on Sunday, I’m very excited to be flying home today to be home with my own little hobbits.

I’ll be sharing more of my thoughts on the new trailer and the show in general once I’ve had more time to sift through all of my notes, but if you’d like to connect and discuss in a more casual sort of way — please find me on twitter @teawithtolkien!