‘The Rings of Power’ star plans to turn the backlash into positivity, whether you like it or not

The Rings of Power was subject to a lot of backlash when it premiered earlier this year on Prime Video, but the cast isn’t letting that get into their heads. Ismael Cruz Córdova, in particular, wants to take that negative energy and actually double down on the show’s commitment toward representation.

J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth has always been inclusive and appreciative of differences in people, but for some reason, the mere fact that a person of color was cast to portray an Elf in the latest Lord of the Rings live-action adaptation proved enough to make certain parts of the fandom bristle with anger.

We’re not talking about the majority of folks who criticize the show for objective reasons and mostly take issue with its lackluster storytelling and characterization. While it wasn’t fair of Amazon to shrug off all the criticism by labeling it “racist,” there’s no denying that some people were actually mad for this very reason.

As far as Cruz Córdova is concerned, though, there’s a lot of love for Arondir among audiences and that should be all the evidence The Rings of Power needs to reaffirm its obligation to representation. In his own words via a new interview with Variety:

“‘I think this is the beginning. I think we would be remiss to not do that — to stop there,’ he said. ‘There’s so much love and people cosplaying as Arondir, sending love, making fan art and saying, ‘We’re here for you. We see the negativity, but we’re gonna flood your inbox with positivity.’ This has changed history, and there is a big movement behind this.’”

The actor saying that “this is the beginning” actually reminds us of what Arwen told Aragorn in Peter Jackson’s The Two Towers. “U i vethed na i onnad.” This is not the end, it is only the beginning.