Summary

• A behind-the-scenes featurette teases all the practical stunts and real sets involved in the making of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2.
• The teaser shows practical action sequences and provides new looks at characters like Galadriel, Arondir, Disa, and more.
• CGI and VFX are crucial to bringing Middle-earth to life, but practical elements help make the world feel more real.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 gets a new behind-the-scenes trailer, teasing the massive sets and practical effects. Adapting the works of author J. R. R. Tolkien, The Rings of Power season 1 introduced a new take on Middle-earth in 2022. Now, the hit Prime Video series, which is created by Patrick McKay and J. D. Payne, is set to return for season 2 this summer.

Ahead of The Rings of Power season 2's release date, Prime Video releases a new behind-the-scenes video revealing how the new batch of episodes was made and what audiences can expect. Check out the video below:

The featurette provides new looks at Morfydd Clark as Galadriel, Charlie Vickers as Sauron, and Ismael Cruz Cordova as Arondir, among others, in addition to showing off just how much of season 2 was accomplished using practical effects and hand-crafted sets.

The Rings Of Power's Practical Sets Are A Promising Sign For Season 2

Middle-earth Can Fully Come To Life

Visual effects and CGI are crucial to bringing the world of Middle-earth to life. Even Peter Jackson relied heavily on digital effects for his beloved Lord of the Rings trilogy. Certain fantastical creatures, structures, and landscapes just can't feasibly be pulled off in a practical way, and The Rings of Power season 1 largely struck an effective balance between practical elements and CGI. Orcs, for example, were created using makeup and prosthetics in season 1, making them far more frightening.

While The Rings of Power made the move from New Zealand to the U.K. for season 2, the latest featurette affirms that the batch of episodes will be maintaining a balance between practical and CGI. The video shows off practical Orcs, real fire, and some stunning on-location shooting. Mordor, for example, is shown to be a large, burnt-looking field with great amounts of manufactured mist and smoke. Another section of the video shows on-location shooting on a beautiful coastal cliff.

Having The Rings of Power's cast filming in real, tangible environments with practical stunts and effects on set helps to make Middle-earth feel all the more real to audiences. While a location like Khazad-dûm can't be created for real in its entirety, the fact that some of its large stone halls and rooms were constructed as sets is worth celebrating. Hopefully, future seasons of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will continue this focus on mixing practical and digital elements to bring Middle-earth to life.

Source: Prime Video