The personification of pure evil — Sauron; the foreboding antagonist who embodies the essence of villainy. An antagonist most of us grew with, especially avid fans of Lord of the Rings. When the announcement of a potential prequel series dropped, enjoyers of J.R.R. Tolkien’s works were ecstatic. At SDCC, the first look of Sauron, played by Anson Boon in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power was unveiled and fans are… well, taken aback for sure.
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The Reaction Of The Fans
The upcoming Amazon drama series based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s books takes place tens of thousands of years before the events of LOTR and The Hobbit. The series follows the events that took place in the Second Age of Middle Earth. The series will deal with the rise of Sauron’s villainy, how the Rings of Power were forged, and the final alliance that occurred between Elves and the Men of Middle Earth.
At the San Diego Comic-Con, fans got a first look at the dark lord Sauron, the incarnation of all things evil, the menacing and intimidating antagonist. And… according to people on Twitter, he looks just like Eminem.
Twitter had a lot to say about this reveal, mostly in criticism of it, with people even saying “this sh*t ain’t LOTR.”
Sauron should be beautiful, welcoming. Irresistible. Not someone who listens to Linkin Park.
— George Alexopoulos 🇺🇸 (@GPrime85) July 22, 2022
Looks like Eminem.
This sh’t ain’t Lord of the Rings.
— Stand The Offensive (@StandTheOffence) July 22, 2022
This show looks awful
— Zach McElroy (@ZachMcElroy1) July 22, 2022
"There is no curse in Elvish, Entish or the tongues of men for this treachery" J.R.R Tolkien
— Crobb (@Crobb880) July 22, 2022
The reveal was quite a surprise, indeed.
Read also: Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power – Amazon Prime Releases Cryptic Character Posters
Some Defended The New Look Of Sauron
While most were quick to poke fun at Sauron’s first look in the upcoming series, others brought up the lore of the franchise that everyone seemed to be forgetting about. Sauron was originally a Maiar, and also a shapeshifter. He could morph into various forms, much like a trickster. He was able to take various forms, mainly of humans, elves, serpents, werewolves, etc. He tricked the Elves into creating the rings by using his other forms. However, Sauron lost his power of shapeshifting when Numenor fell.
Fans pointed this out in defense of the upcoming series.
People just finding out that sauron didn't always look how he did in TLOTR lol
— 𝔍𝔞𝔪𝔰 (@OhJamOne) July 22, 2022
Sauron was a Maiar and a shapeshifter who took various forms from a werewolf, a serpent and a vampire. He used fair forms to deceive the Elves into making the rings. When Numenor fell, Sauron lost the ability to take fair forms. He could only take forms reflecting his nature.
— Jordan Wylde (@JordanLWylde) July 22, 2022
y'all really out here not knowing Sauron is a shapeshifter pic.twitter.com/2rKWDfzGNy
— Ashe 夜空 ☄️🛸 (@ShizzysRevenge) July 22, 2022
Kinda funny to see people that know nothing about the lore and think that Sauron = Peter Jackson Sauron, giant with the black armor
Sauron was a shapeshifter, a trickster, he assumed human/elvish like forms to disguise, and he actually did that— Rodrigo o Cinzento 🧙♂️🇪🇪 (@NoChuta) July 22, 2022
The upcoming series is scheduled to release on September 2nd, 2022, exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: Twitter