After many years, Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power has finally arrived on Amazon Prime, and fans couldn't have been more divided. While some are excited to see Galadriel's backstory, a large portion of Lord of the Rings' loyal fanbase felt skeptical ahead of the show's debut.
Unlike the original trilogy and the three movies about The Hobbit, Rings of Power does not follow any of Tolkien's novels. The series, which is loosely based on The Silmarillion, has received positive and negative feedback so far, and seeing iconic characters has done little to win over most of the LOTR fanbase. These are the characters who get featured in Tolkien's novels and the Amazon series.
6 Sauron
Sauron, who serves as the main antagonist of the classic story, is back. This time around, fans will learn about his past and how he became the most despised and feared villain in all of Middle-Earth.
With only a few episodes released, Sauron has just been a name mentioned throughout the show and has yet to appear on the screen. Despite the series not following the source material, many people are curious to see just who this enemy will be and how they will affect Rings of Power. Sauron has been mentioned or has appeared in every LOTR movie by Peter Jackson.
5 Galadriel
Galadriel, the one fans came to love after seeing her in The Fellowship of the Ring, was originally played by Cate Blanchett. Galadriel was portrayed as a serene, beautiful, and powerful elf who treated everyone fairly and guided them down the right path. For instance, she told Frodo to be wary of Boromir and his true intentions. The Lady of Lothlórien was also the owner of Nenya, one of the rings of power.
As for Galadriel's portrayal in the prequel, her personality is quite different from the one fans are familiar with. This version of the powerful elf, played by Morfydd Clark, is more naive, angry, and compulsive, and fights with a sword in the name of revenge.
4 Elrond
Elrond, the high lord and ruler of Rivendell has been an important secondary character in the franchise. Originally played by Hugo Weaving, the powerful half-elf appeared in both trilogies directed by Peter Jackson. Elrond was the one to escort King Isildur to Mount Doom to dispose of the one ring.
He was also the one to welcome Bilbo and the dwarves into his home as well as Frodo and the Fellowship of the ring later on. In the prequel, he's portrayed by Robert Aramayo, and his story happens before he forged the ring of power with the Elven smith Celebrimbor.
3 Isildur
Isildur made a quick appearance in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. He was the High King of Gondor and Arnor before his untimely death. Isildur, played by Harry Sinclair, was an ancestor to Viggo Mortensen's character, Aragon. He was also the one to free the One Ring from Sauron's finger before being corrupted by its evil on his way to destroy it.
He got killed by some orcs, who didn't know Isildur possessed the ring, and it got lost for nearly 2,500 years before Gollum found the precious. Maxim Baldry is the actor lucky enough to play Isildur in Rings of Power. Fans get to learn more or at least see a different side to the characters by having them engage in everyday situations.
2 Gil-galad
High King of the Ñoldor and Middle-Earth's elves, Gil-galad was played by Mark Furgeson in the main trilogy. During his lifetime, he was in one of the groups to fight against Sauron with his own army of Elves. He was also one of the original three Elven ring-bearers and wore the ring, Vilya.
As for the Amazon Prime series, Gil-galad gets portrayed by Benjamin Walker, and this prequel explores his past and what led him to become such a powerful ruler. Despite his somewhat minor role in the original trilogy, it seems likely that he'll play a fairly significant role in the show.
1 Celebrimbor
Celebrimbor lived in Middle-Earth as a Ñoldorin prince. Due to Sauron's involvement, Celebrimbor learned how to craft rings and forged the three rings of power: Narya, Nenya, and Vilya. Each ring was given to a specific person of trust, status, and power, such as Galadriel, Gil-galad, and Celebrimbor himself before the ring got passed down to Gandalf.
As for the One Ring, it was forged by Sauron in secret. Celebrimdor in the Rings of Power is played by Charles Edwards and has only appeared in the series for a handful of minutes but is still considered one of the most important characters due to the part he played in forging the titular rings.