The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 will introduce audiences to Tom Bombadil, one of J.R.R. Tolkien’s most beloved characters. In the book, Bombadil is a colorful woodland-dwelling man who helps save the hobbits from a dangerous situation. Bombadil was absent in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy and Ralph Bakshi’s 1978 animated film.
What to Expect From Tom Bombadil in Rings of Power Season 2?
After years of waiting, fans will finally see Bombadil in The Rings of Power Season 2, with Rory Kinnear stepping into the role of Tolkien’s iconic character. Why is now the right time for Bombadil’s introduction?
“Well, I guess with the other adaptations, I think Peter Jackson said it, it doesn’t necessarily drive the story on, particularly in the narrative of it,” Kinnear told GamesRadar+. “But in the pages and in people’s imaginations, he is this incredible character that has so much knowledge and so much sense of fun and so much life about him, as well as the whole of humanity and history and the earth. This is sort of representative of all that Earth is, and Middle-earth.”
Kinnear believes adapting Tolkien’s work for television allows The Rings of Power showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay more time to examine characters, like Bombadil, and bring them to life.
“Obviously, over multi-season episodic TV, you’ve got more time to investigate those stories,” Kinnear said. “In the way that J.D. and Patrick are telling the story, they’re able to create a role for him that isn’t necessarily the one that he has in the books. So whilst they’re using that character, they are using him in a different way to how Tolkien did.”
The official Season 2 synopsis reads: “Sauron has returned. Cast out by Galadriel, without army or ally, the rising Dark Lord must now rely on his own cunning to rebuild his strength and oversee the creation of the Rings of Power, which will allow him to bind all the peoples of Middle-earth to his sinister will.”
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 premieres on Prime Video on August 29.
