Exclusive: ‘We wanted to do a classic, epic, and rip-roaring Tolkienian battle’
The Rings of Power season 2’s forthcoming tentpole battle sequence is the “most ambitious undertaking we’ve ever attempted.” That’s according to co-showrunner Patrick McKay, who left me in no uncertain terms about the size, scale, and scope of this season’s action spectacle.
Speaking to TechRadar ahead of season 2’s launch in late August, McKay opened up the amount of work that went into bringing the Siege of Eregion to life. An era-defining battle, the bloody and devastating conflict is arguably the most significant of The Lord of the Rings‘ iconic fights. Indeed, not only does it kick off the War of the Elves and Sauron that spans much of Middle-earth’s Second Age, but it also shapes events in the Third Age, the biggest of which were covered in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings movie trilogies.
Some of the battles depicted in those films, such as The Two Towers‘ Helm’s Deep and The Return of the King‘s Siege of Gondor, clearly influenced elements of The Rings of Power‘s take on the Siege of Eregion. During our chat, McKay and co-creator J.D. Payne didn’t elaborate on what inspirations they took from that duo that informed the Prime Video show’s latest big-budget battle.
Nonetheless, McKay and Payne wanted to honor the multi-stage action-set pieces that Jackson and company adapted for the big screen and how the Siege of Eregion is described in Tolkien’s literary works.
“The Siege of Eregion is the most ambitious undertaking we’ve ever attempted on this show,” McKay admitted, “Which is really saying something, because everything on this show is ambitious.”
“We wanted to do a classic, epic, and rip-roaring Tolkienian battle with not just two sides, but with multiple armies and multiple races colliding. Also, sieges don’t take place over one day or night, but over a matter of weeks or months, so we want you to feel that time. We want you to feel the phases it moves through. We have an aerial bombardment, destruction of the city and the natural environment, [and] then there’s a horse charge and a ground assault. By the eighth episode, it devolves into hand-to-hand street fighting, like [the Battle of] Stalingrad.”
(Image credit: Prime Video)
That sounds like a lot to pack into the Amazon prequel series’ last two episodes – and that’s before you even account for season 2’s other storylines in Númenor, Pelargir, Khazad-dûm, and Rhûn that also need some form of resolution before The Rings of Power departs our screens once more. It’s a good job, then, that McKay, Payne, and the show’s thousands-strong cast and crew prepared thoroughly to ensure that filming the Siege of Eregion went as smoothly as possible.
“It took a year to prepare,” McKay revealed, “And it took weeks to shoot. We had hundreds of extras, and an immeasurable amount of prosthetics made by Barrie and Sarah Gower. Then there’s the stunt work performed by our amazing stunt team, the pyrotechnics, our CGI troll, and then our producing director Charlotte Brandstrom and second unit director Vic Armstrong who captured it all on camera. It’s all of the things, all of the time, but we’re really proud of the result.”
(Image credit: Prime Video)
So, we can expect an episode or two akin to the ‘Battle of the Bastards’ and ‘The Long Night’ episodes in HBO’s Game of Thrones, right? Not quite. As I mentioned, there are other narratives running concurrent to the Siege of Eregion, so one of the best Prime Video shows’ second season won’t end with an episodic pair that’ll leave audiences drained by its conclusion.
“It’s not wall-to-wall action,” McKay admitted. “You’re moving in and out of sequences of very tense action and emotional character-driven moments. The Siege of Eregion is not just the big bang at the end of the season. It is that, too, but it also the knot that binds all of these different story threads involving Galadriel, Sauron, Adar, Celebrimbor, Elrond, and Durin – it ties them together. So, you’re not just getting narrative explosions; it’s also emotional character explosions, epiphanies and huge changes to the course of Middle-earth’s history.”
As Galadriel observed in season 2 episode 4, then, you’ll need to “prepare yourselves” for tragic and heroic moments alike. Before this season’s penultimate chapter arrives, be sure to read some of my exclusives with the series’ cast below, which tease what’s to come in the final two episodes.
News
Emily in Paris Season 4 Part 2: Alfie reveals his new girlfriend, leaving Emily in tears! It’s time for revenge
The video “Emily in Paris” Season 4 Part 2 is a bittersweet conclusion to the season. While Emily finds love with Marello, the departures of Alfie and Camille leave a void in the show. The future of “Emily in Paris”…
BREAKING NEWS! Emily In Paris trailer reveals Juicy NEW Details About Season 5
Based on the trailer for the second part of Season 4, it seems that Emily is going to be dealing with the fallout from her decision to stay with Gabriel. She is also going to be trying to navigate her…
Emily in Paris achieved an achievement that is hard to match with 4 seasons and 1 number
There’s no doubt that Darren Star‘s Emily in Paris is one of Netflix’s most enduring series. Ever since its debut in October 2020, the show has pulled in millions of viewers on a consistent basis, moving right the way through until this year’s two-part…
Lily Collins reveals the man who will be Emily In Paris’s true love after 4 seasons
Lily Collins thinks Mindy Chen is actually Emily Cooper’s one true love. The ‘Emily In Paris’ actress – who will once again play the title role in the recently announced fifth season of the Netflix hit – has suggested her…
‘I don’t understand him anymore’: Lucas Bravo frustrated as his Gabriel turns into a monster in ‘Emily in Paris’
Many have voiced their displeasure with the latest development of Chef Gabriel, including the performer himself. Did you know it’s supposed to be pronounced “Emily in Pa-ree” not “Emily is Pair-iss”? It’s a (sorta) attempt at a rhyme. I feel like most people…
Lucien Laviscount has an actress in mind to play his girlfriend in Emily in Paris Season 5
In season four of Emily in Paris, Lucien Laviscount‘s character Alfie was in for quite a whirlwind. After hovering in a limbo state in his relationship with Emily (Lily Collins), the two officially went their separate ways when she rekindled things with…
End of content
No more pages to load