The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power Season 2 Will Introduce Tolkien's Creepiest Villains

As much as Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy has established itself as the "definitive" adaptation of author J.R.R. Tolkien's source material (with apologies to the fans of Ralph Bakshi's animated film, which is criminally underseen and underrated), there were plenty of incredible concepts and creatures from the books that never made their way onto the big screen. Thankfully, Prime Video's "The Rings of Power" series is already setting things right in the upcoming second season by bringing our favorite little gremlin Tom Bombadil into live-action for the very first time in all his glory. But even that long-awaited addition pales in comparison to the utter nerdiness of this latest reveal.

Empire Magazine has dedicated much of this past week to teeing up what fans can expect from "The Rings of Power" this time around, and this next bit of news might be the most exciting one of them all. By all accounts, the series will be diving headfirst into full-blown horror territory in its sophomore season, courtesy of the introduction of some of the creepiest villains Tolkien ever conjured: the Barrow-wights, created for the show primarily through the magic of visual effects. (You can check out a first look at these antagonists below.) VFX supervisor Jason Smith gave the lowdown to Empire, teasing what these beings are and how they'll feel utterly unique in the coming episodes:

"The Barrow-wights are ancient, reanimated heroes, acting for evil against their will. It was super-exciting to take on something I hadn't seen before. We've seen undead before, but not like this. We're doing a little horror movie in Middle-earth."

For the biggest Tolkien fans, a proper adaptation of the Barrow-wights has been a long time coming. Based on a mix of mythology and old English folktales, these ghostlike spirits played a big role early on in "The Fellowship of the Ring," when Frodo and his loyal Hobbit friends end up crossing paths with some of the deadliest and most ancient foes in all of Middle-earth. Jackson opted not to adapt this subplot in the movie (and rightfully so, since it had so much going on already), but "The Rings of Power" showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay apparently decided that the events of the Second Age, set thousands of years before the Fellowship began trudging their way to Mordor, would be the perfect opportunity to unleash Tolkien's twist on the undead.

In fact, Smith went on to reveal how the creative team took their cues from the beloved fantasy author, directly incorporating his description of the Barrow-wights' physical appearance into the show. "The eyes are one key thing we took from the writing," he explained, pointing to their creepy blue eyes as seen in the image above. While it might be tempting to compare them to the famous Ringwraiths, fans can look forward to the wights presenting a completely different kind of threat than anything we've seen before. As Smith went on to say:

"The feeling the passages give you is of a doom that is approaching, not by speed but by being indefatigable. It's a menace that is just going to encroach an inch at a time until you have nowhere to go and you die."

I, for one, welcome our new undead overlords. "The Rings of Power" season 2 hits Prime Video on August 29, 2024.