‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ images reveal first look at the orcs

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has showcased the orcs from the Second Age, and by the looks of it, they’ve had nothing but maggoty bread for three stinking days.

While details about the new Middle-earth show are being kept tightly under wraps, the return of the orcs was a no-brainer. Not that they had much to do in the Second Age, mind you, especially in those first few centuries, but by the time the Last Alliance forms, the orcs of Mordor comprise the bulk of Sauron’s armies.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Courtesy of IGN, here’s your first look at the orcs who’ll be making a nuisance of themselves for our protagonists in The Rings of Power:

The design isn’t entirely dissimilar to Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but some differences stand out in both their prosthetics and apparel. For one thing, these orcs are wearing disproportionate helmets and armor, probably nicked off of fallen elven warriors or men. And for another, they appear to be in much better fighting shape than the horse fodder that went up against the Rohirrim at the end of the Third Age.

At the start of the Second Age, orcs are scattered across Middle-earth and patching up their wounds after the cataclysmic War of Wrath, which saw the entire might of Ainur and the forces of the light leveled against Morgoth, the Black Foe of the World.

It might be a while until Sauron the Deceiver unites them all under a single banner again, but given the fact that The Rings of Power intends to burn through the entire history of the Second Age in five seasons and in a condensed timeline, no less, the writers may have decided to make the orcs a bit more threatening than their chronological book counterparts.