Rings of Power: Also the Comic-Con trailer with a devastating like/dislike ratio

In September, fans of Lord of the Rings can come along The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power marvel at a treat from the Tolkien universe on their screens again after a long time. Recently, another trailer of the series produced by Amazon Studios, which tells the story that takes place several thousand years before the events of the novel Lord of the Rings, has been released every week.

Despite the epic trailer, criticism of the upcoming Lord of the Rings series is hailing. About the olifant in space we had already spoken after the announcement of The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power. Amazon relies on a diverse cast. So far, so normal. However, characters such as a dark-skinned dwarf woman without a beard are also created. This is not in canon with what Tolkien created. Fans fear that Amazon could massively damage the legacy of the legendary Lord of the Rings series. On top of that, the epic trailers don’t seem to come across as epic.

Devastating like-dislike ratio for main teasers and comic-con trailers

The latest trailer shows the main teaser for the series. This has over 11 million views on YouTube and gets a thumbs up from a good 71,000 viewers. However, to face it 317,000 thumbs down.

The main teaser once again delivers epic images of landscapes, paired with statements from some of the series’ protagonists. In the comments, viewers complain that the trailers for The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power are poorly produced and the actors only get empty phrases in their mouths.

The recently on the San Diego Comic-Con aired trailer doesn’t come off well either. 38,000 likes and 63,000 dislikes on YouTube (as of July 23, 2022). Sauron is shown for the first time in this trailer. His appearance is particularly criticized and is slowly becoming a meme.

Are the showrunners soiling the Tolkien stories?

However, as mentioned above, most fear that the Amazon series will tarnish JRR Tolkien’s legacy. Not only the trailers give reason to believe, but above all the statements of the showrunners Patrick McKay and JD Payne. Both leaked several times that they will stick to the works of Tolkien, but that some things will have to be changed for the television series.

Interviewed by Vanity Fair for example, the two say that the timeline of the second age of Middle-earth (which the series is set in) needs to be squeezed together properly. This means that events like the Fall of Númenor and the forging of the Rings of Power will not be separated by thousands of years as in Tolkien’s books. Instead, they will all develop and play out at the same time.