The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power teaser shows Sauron in full control of Middle-earth

By Mashable | Created at 2026-07-24 19:36:12 | Updated at 2026-08-08 16:56:14 2 weeks ago

Plus, get your first glimpse of Jamie Campbell Bower as Celeborn.

 By 

Belen Edwards

 on July 24, 2026

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Prime Video released the teaser for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power at San Diego Comic-Con, and things are looking bad for Middle-earth.

Season 3 picks up five years after the fall of Eregion, with Sauron (Charlie Vickers) now comfortably in control of Middle-earth. His armies have swept across the world, and only a few places remain free from his dark grasp. The dwarves have shut themselves away in Khazad-dûm, while the elves remain ensconced in the realms of Lindon and Rivendell, protected by their three rings of power. Their time of relative safety may be coming to a close, though, because Sauron is hard at work on his greatest piece of statement jewelry yet: a little bauble called the One Ring. Surely that won't cause any problems, right?

The teaser isn't all doom and gloom, though. It offers up our first glimpse of the reunion between Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and her long-lost husband, Celeborn (Jamie Campbell Bower), who share some passionate moments even as the world crumbles around them.

Celeborn isn't the only new character joining this season. The Rings of Power Comic-Con panel also saw the announcement of three major players this season: Thrain (Eddie Marsan), older brother of King Durin IV (Owain Arthur); Anarion (Andrew Richardson), the younger son of Elendil (Lloyd Owen); and Marnûkh (Adam Young), a mysterious Orc. Oh, and for the first time ever, the ferocious Balrog will be speaking, and will be voiced by Simon Pegg. More Balrog can only mean one thing: Khazad-dûm isn't long for this world.

To watch all these characters and more — including the Nazgnagôl, early incarnations of the Nazgûl — in action, check out the full teaser above.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 3 premieres Nov. 11 on Prime Video.

A woman in a white sweater with shoulder-length brown hair.

Belen Edwards is an Entertainment Reporter at Mashable. She covers movies and TV with a focus on fantasy and science fiction, adaptations, animation, and more nerdy goodness. She is a member of the Critics Choice Association and the Television Critics Association, as well as a Tomatometer-approved critic.

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