Ezan Charo 
Lord of The Rings, written by J.R.R. Tolkien, is getting back into the mainstream, which I could be happier about. There’s a new show in development and not just one, but TWO new video games set in the fantastical world of Middle-earth for die-hard fans to delve into.
In case some of you need a very brief summary of LOTR, here you go: Set in the vast continent of Middle-earth full of dwarves, elves and magic, a wizard named Gandalf enlists the help of some hobbits named Frodo and Sam to escort a sacred ring of great evil across the realm. Their goal is to destroy it, as it is the root of all evil that can only be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom, a massive volcano deep within Mordor. Sauron, the ring’s creator, wants the ring back for himself to take over the land.
“The Rings of Power” is the newly announced show debuting on Amazon Prime, is set to launch September 2, 2022. It is based in the Second Age within the timeline, which was the era of turmoil right before the original setting of both The Hobbit book and The Lord of the Rings books take place in, which was the Third Age. It is centered around several, well, rings of power that were forged to grant the wearer great power, but its true purpose was to ensnare the leaders of Middle-earth into the enslavement of Sauron, aka the big bad guy main antagonist.
The show has received some controversial backlash from various groups within the Lord of the Rings fandom, sparking mass debate and debacles over things such as canon, continuity, and the casting choices. There have been a lot of heated discussions about these things, but that’s a different conversation for another time.
The first video game up for discussion is “Lord of the Rings: Gollum”, set to release on September 1, 2022. The story-driven action adventure game focuses on the character of Gollum and his survival within the wretched land of Mordor, a terrible place ruled by the evil army of Sauron. The game takes place before his appearance in the original Lord of the Rings novels. His morality is decided by the player as choices to make in certain scenarios whether to lean more into kindness or into malice as the game continues.
The other video game, “Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria”, is going onto PC only in spring of 2023. Not much is known about this title, as it was just recently announced, but we do know that it’s a survival crafting game taking place in the Fourth Age of Middle-earth in which the player reclaims the lost dwarven land of Moria.
Are you hyped about either of the games or the new show? Hit me up and let me know!
By Ezan Charo, Junior, ChiArts
Twitter: @digitalwarlock8
