Potential spoilers follow for The Rings of Power season 2.

The Rings of Power season 2's final trailer has cast its shadow over Middle-earth – and, I don't know about you, but I think the show's next outing is looking suitably epic.

Debuting just two weeks before the hit Amazon show returns to our screens, there's a lot to unpack from its two-minute runtime. Indeed, the Prime Video series' latest teaser doesn't just significantly raise the stakes ahead of its long-awaited return, but it also appears to give us our first look at a new character (someone who's very familiar to The Lord of the Rings fans), some potentially intriguing alliances, and likely absorbing one-on-one showdowns. Oh, and it confirms three episodes will debut on launch day, which is Thursday, August 29.

The trailer contains numerous new glimpses of this season's tentpole battle, aka The Siege of Eregion, which I expect to play out in the final few episodes of The Rings of Power's next installment. It isn't all about this season's giant set-piece, though, with the trailer transitioning to multiple character-driven moments, including ones with voice overs from High King Gil-galad and Cirdan the Shipwright warning of the perils of wearing the titular, dark magic-infused rings. Cue a montage of horror-filled and other ominous looking scenarios that Middle-earth's various factions will have to contend with.

Later, we get a much clearer idea of some of the unlikely partnerships and dynamics we'll see throughout season 2. As The Rings of Power's first trailer originally teased, the relationship between Celebrimbor and Annatar (the latter being one of major villain Sauron's many aliases) is central to this season's plot, with Annatar manipulating Celebrimbor into forging the Rings of Power. We also get a brief look at a potentially unexpected alliance between Galadriel and orc army leader Adar, with the footage suggesting that the latter still doesn't see eye to eye with The Lord of the Rings' most notable big bad. This could, however, be a clever piece of trailer-based editing, which simply gives the impression that Galadriel and Adar will temporarily team up.

Who is the new wizard in The Rings of Power season 2's new trailer?

The biggest surprise of season 2's final trailer, though, comes around the 1:30 mark. There have been plenty of surprise reveals leading up to the high fantasy series' return, not least in The Rings of Power's second trailer and the revelation that season 2 will feature a fan-favorite Lord of the Rings character in a live-action capacity for the first time. 

However, the apparent confirmation that a younger Saruman, one of Middle-earth's five Wizards who betrayed his own kin and join Sauron in The Lord of the Rings, will appear in season 2 was something I didn't expect. Ciarán Hinds (Treason, Belfast), who was rumored to be playing Saruman in The Rings of Power season 2 in late July, appears to be doing just that, too, judging by his all-too-brief appearance in this teaser.

Of course, Hinds could be playing another Wizard (they're also known as the Istari), such as one of the the two Blue Wizards who have never appeared in a live-action Lord of the Rings project before. But, given his white robes, staff and lengthy beard that resemble Saruman's from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies, and his general demeanor, I'd be amazed if Hinds is portraying anyone other than the Istari's wise but flawed chieftain.

There's plenty more in this latest batch of footage to get excited about as well, including duels between Silvan elf Arondir and Damrod the Hill-troll, Galadriel and Sauron, and Durin's Bane and, well, the whole of Khazad-dûm. Expect lots more inter- and intra-racial melodrama, bloody and thrilling action, wonderfully realized fantasy elements, and atmospheric horror where that came from, too, when one of the best Prime Video shows returns. I, for one, can't wait.

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