Middle-earth teems with life in all forms and shapes, but when it comes to creatures of the shadow, you might want to think twice before extending a hand in friendship. And that is especially true if you’re dealing with something that traces its origins back to Melkor the Black Foe.
As part of Empire Magazine’s extensive profile on Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, we’ve just received our first look at one of the shadowspawn who’ll be appearing in this latest adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s high fantasy world. The creature you see below is apparently a “snow troll,” who, we presume, is much like a mountain troll or a cave troll, except that you can only find this variant in a much colder climate.
While Tolkien himself has only mentioned snow trolls once in passing, we actually got to see them in action as agents of Angmar in The Battle for Middle-earth II: The Rise of Witch-King. Another viable piece of speculation is that this creature might have something to do with Galadriel’s unknown expedition into a snowy mountain range, as seen in the first trailer for The Rings of Power. This means the Lady of Galadhrim will have more than the ice-chiseled rocks of the mountainside to deal with, whatever her purpose may turn out to be.
Taking place at the beginning of the Second Age of Middle-earth, some 6,000 years before the events of The Lord of the Rings, this new adaptation by Amazon Studios will delve into the story of Sauron the Deceiver and depict his rise to power through the Rings.
The Rings of Power is slated for a Sep. 2 release on Prime Video.
