On Thursday, Prime Video shared that Laurence Olivier Award-winning actor Rory Kinnear, known for James Bond films, will portray the fan-favorite J.R.R. Tolkien character Tom Bombadil in Season Two of ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’. The second season of ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ is all set to premiere on Prime Video on August 29, 2024
This announcement comes after much speculation, as the timeless and jovial Tom Bombadil has been beloved by Tolkien fans for decades. Considering he has aided several key moments of the larger story, the character’s absence from other on-screen depictions of Middle-earth has been a discussion of conversation. Check out his brand-new images from the series:
Meanwhile, the series’ showrunners J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay, are looking forward to having Kinnear bring this iconic role to life. “He’s whimsical and magical, and almost verging on silly. But also has the wisdom of the ages and the music of the spheres and deep emotional wells of ancient history and myth, and his conception and function are tied to Norse myths and have deep roots in European fairy tale,” McKay says, adding, “So weirdly, he’s kind of the most Lord of the Rings thing in Lord of the Rings.”
Payne added, “Tom is sort of a curiosity within that structure because while it is darker, Tom Bombadil is singing and saying lines that could be nursery rhymes from children’s poems. So, he sort of defies the tonal shift of the rest of the season and is a real point of light amidst an otherwise sea of darkness.”
Kinnear too relished the opportunity to portray the voice and mannerisms of the character for the first time in a filmed iteration of Tolkien’s work. “There’s this sense of huge experience, huge openness, huge empathy, and having gone through so much that he[Bombadil] knows it’s the small things that are important. That felt actually quite domestic, felt quite reachable in terms of my understanding of who he was,” he said.
‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ Season Two will be available in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. The first season of ‘The Rings of Power’ has been an unprecedented success, viewed by more than 100 million people worldwide. The second season of ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ is backed by showrunners and executive producers J.D. Payne & Patrick McKay.
