The trailer for the second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power debuted on Friday evening at Comic Con in San Diego, with Irish actor Ciarán Hinds among the new cast members heading to Middle-earth.
The spin-off series, which is inspired by author JRR Tolkien's extended notes, is set thousands of years before the events of the world-renowned The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings books, and follows the events of the Second Age and the forging of the famous rings.
The action-packed trailer focuses on the long-feared reemergence of the legendary villain Sauron, heralding the return of darkness and evil to Middle-earth after many years of hard-fought peace among all of its realms.
The trailer teases several major battle scenes that will be pivotal to season two's storylines, as well as giving fans a glimpse at some of the fantastical creatures that will feature, including a young Shelob, an army of Barrow-wights, Hill-troll Damrod and a Sea Worm.
Belfast star Hinds has joined the cast for the second season alongside fellow newcomers Rory Kinnear and Tanya Moodie.
Actors Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Robert Aramayo, Maxim Baldry, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova and Charles Edwards are among the ensemble cast for the series.
An official synopsis for the second season reads: "Building on Season One's epic scope and ambition, the new season plunges even its most beloved and vulnerable characters into a rising tide of darkness, challenging each to find their place in a world that is increasingly on the brink of calamity.
"As friendships are strained and kingdoms begin to fracture, the forces of good — Elves and dwarves, orcs and men, wizards and Harfoots — will struggle ever more valiantly to hold on to what matters to them most of all: each other."
The first season of The Rings of Power was a huge success, viewed by more than 100 million people worldwide, with more than 32 billion minutes streamed.
The second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will premiere on Prime Video on 29 August, 2024.
