Everyone loves The Lord of the Rings. In fact, so much so that when Amazon first announced it was adapting the classic J.R.R. Tolkien story for their own streaming platform, many cried out against the idea, believing that the Peter Jackson films are the definitive take on the Middle-Earth saga. Eventually, it was revealed that Amazon's Lord of the Rings series would be subtitled The Rings of Power, and would be a prequel to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings set thousands of years before the events of those cherished stories. Even by watching the trailers for the upcoming series, it's easy to see that the showrunners behind Rings of Power are doing their best to tell a new and different story, one we haven't heard before.

There are plenty of things we're excited to see in The Rings of Power, but for many of us, we'll just be happy to return to Middle-Earth in any capacity. With some familiar characters, and some completely new, there are plenty of mysteries that we'll probably see solved throughout the show's run. With HBO's House of the Dragon having premiered only weeks prior, many are concerned that the Game of Thrones prequel will oust the return to Tolkien's magical world. But for those of us who love all things Tolkien, we know there isn't much of a competition. Are you still confused about where on the Middle-Earth timeline The Rings of Power is set to take place? Look no further than below...

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The Second Age of Middle-Earth

Numenor in Rings of Power

The history of Middle-Earth was chronicled by Tolkien primarily through three different "Ages" of time known as the Ages of Arda. The First Age follows the creation of the world by the supreme deity of Arda — the name of Tolkien's world — known as Eru Ilúvatar. Ilúvatar also created the Ainur, spirit beings that included the first Dark Lord Melkor and Olórin, who would eventually be incarnated as the Wizard Gandalf - to help oversee the world's formation. After Melkor, also called Morgoth, rebelled against Ilúvatar and his forces, he corrupted Men and because of his treachery was sent to the Void, though many of his servants, including Sauron, still remained in Middle-Earth.

The Rings of Power is set to chronicle the Second Age following Melkor's banishment where Sauron attempted to rise to power. It's in this Age that the Rings of Power — three for the Elves, seven for the Dwarves, and nine for Men — were forged after Sauron taught the Elf-smiths how to craft them, only to forget his own One Ring to control them all. It's also during this Age that Númenor, the largest Kingdom of Men, was at the height of its civilization, only to eventually fall. This Age ended with the Last Alliance of Elves and Men where an army of heroes banded together against the Dark Lord Sauron and his forces, ending the threat and restoring peace (mostly) to Middle-Earth... At least for a time.

Though the Second Age of Middle-Earth is chronicled in further detail in Tolkien's The Silmarillion, the team behind The Rings of Power only has the rights to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings novels - stories set at the end of the Third Age - as well as the appendices that expand on Middle-Earth's history at the end of Return of the King. This means that, while there is a lot that we know about the Second Age from Tolkien's work, there's a strong possibility that The Rings of Power won't touch on all we know about this time period and will rather try to be a direct prequel series to The Lord of the Rings.

The Dark Lord

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That's right, Sauron existed long before the Third Age of Middle-Earth. In fact, Sauron's been around basically since the dawn of time. A Maiar just like Gandalf, Sauron was once known as Mairon before he rebelled to serve Melkor, and during the First Age he was seen as the greatest of all Melkor's servants. Sauron was an expert sorcerer and a shape-shifter, even becoming the Lord of Werewolves. Sauron would eventually be defeated in the First Age by the Elf maiden Lúthien, sending him into hiding well into the Second Age.

For five centuries, Sauron remained hidden and established a reign in Mordor. The Dark Lord would eventually return disguised as the "Lord of Gifts" called Annatar to teach Celebrimbor and the Elf-smiths to forge the Rings of Power. Sauron hoped to use these Rings — including the One Ring he'd use to control the rest — to dominate the races of Middle-Earth. He also built armies of Orcs and Trolls and attempted to make war with the Elves on multiple occasions. Eventually, Sauron would be defeated by an Alliance of Elves and Men, and Isildur, the King of Gondor, would cut the One Ring from his hand, destroying Sauron's physical body and sending him into hiding once more.

Sauron's role in the Second Age will no doubt be chronicled in The Rings of Power, which serves as a prequel for the traditional Lord of the Rings story. We all know what eventually becomes of Sauron, but it's his initial rise to power, the creation of the Rings of Power (and the One Ring), and his various attempts to rule Middle-Earth that will no doubt be retold in Amazon's adaptation of Tolkien's fantasy epic.

Familiar Elven Heroes

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Image via Prime Video

Because of the nature of Elf biology, many of the Elves we'll be following in The Rings of Power are the very same ones we know and love from The Lord of the Rings. This of course includes Galadriel — who was played by Cate Blanchett in the Peter Jackson films and Morfydd Clark in the upcoming Prime Video series — the Lady of Lórien and Elven warrior who immediately distrusted Annatar, long before he was revealed to be Sauron. Galadriel also owned one of the Rings of Power, though she refused to use it while Sauron bore the One Ring. Eventually, she would help the Fellowship of the Ring on their journey to destroy the One Ring at Mount Doom in the Third Age.

Alongside Galadriel, who is already thousands of years old in the Second Age, is the Elf ruler Elrond. Elrond — played by Hugo Weaving in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Robert Aramayo in The Rings of Power — founded the haven of Rivendell during the Second Age. Elrond would use his home to host the first White Council, a cabal of Elves and Wizards hoping to deal with the rising threat of Sauron. When the Dark Lord's reign became too great, Elrond eventually left Rivendell to help defeat Sauron, urging the Gondorian king Isildur to destroy the One Ring at Mount Doom. Tragically, Elrond's warnings weren't heeded, and the One Ring would return to haunt Middle-Earth well into the next Age.

Galadriel and Elrond are some of the most famous Elves in all the Middle-Earth canon, and their roles in Peter Jackson's Middle-Earth saga — including The Hobbit trilogy — were well received by Tolkien fans and critics alike. The Rings of Power will introduce us to younger versions of these Elven heroes as they journey through the Second Age to eventually help defeat the Dark Lord Sauron. Though their victory wouldn't last, we know where the story eventually ends, making this journey an exciting one to embark on in the meantime!

Long Lost Descendants

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Image via Prime Video

Aragorn (played in the films by Viggo Mortensen) may be one of the most famous characters in all of Middle-Earth, but his ancestors are infamous for a few other reasons. A descendant of the Half-Elven king named Elros, the brother of Elrond. In times past, Elrond and Elros were given a choice, to number themselves with Men or with Elves. Elros chose Men while Elrond chose the Elves, this each of their descendants followed suit. Elros became the first King of Númenor, the most impressive Kingdom of Men. Sadly, as time passed, the Númenóreans began to resent Elros and their mortality, deciding to forsake their relationships with the Elves and their worship of Eru Ilúvatar.

This lead to a group of Men known as the Faithful, who still worshipped Ilúvatar, respected the Valar, and hoped to continue to cultivate a relationship with the Elves. After the destruction of Númenor, their leader, Elendil, lead the survivors to Middle-Earth, founding both Gondor and Arnor and ruling over both. Elendil's firstborn son, Isildur (played in the upcoming Amazon series by Maxim Baldry), would inherit the throne and prove invaluable in defeating Sauron at the end of the Second Age. Though Isildur defeated the Dark Lord, he was tempted by the power of the One Ring and kept it for his own, which eventually lead to his death. In the Third Age, Isildur's heir and last descendant Aragorn lead the charge against Sauron during the War of the Ring and reclaimed his heritage as the High King of Gondor and Arnor.

While The Rings of Power most likely won't chronicle all of these events, the inclusion of Númenor and Isildur makes it obvious that we're going to at least get a bit more context behind Aragorn's traditional title as the Heir to Isildur. We'll also get to see Narsil, Isildur's sword that Aragorn would eventually reforge in The Lord of the Rings, in its peak years before being shattered by Sauron. Though we're most familiar with Tolkien's work on The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, some of the earlier, more unexplored, tales of Middle-Earth set to be told in The Rings of Power are no doubt just as exciting and worth exploring in detail. Here's hoping that Amazon gets it right and can tell increasingly compelling Middle-Earth tales for years to come!

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is set to premiere on Prime Video on September 2.