During a panel at San Diego Comic-Con today, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power writer and show creator Patrick McCay suggested in response to a fan question that beloved sidelined elf character Glorfindel "could" show up in the series at some point, alongside Galadriel's missing husband Celeborn.
McCay was asked whether or not there was "an opportunity for Glorfindel to exist beyond the pages of Tolkien" at the end of a panel as part of a fan Q&A, and responded: "The answer is yes. 50 hours is a long story to tell. There's room for a lot of surprising people to show up." He also added: "Celeborn too!"
?BREAKING: Showrunner Patrick McKay confirms that GLORFINDEL can show up in The Rings of Power and that Celeborn will be coming at some point pic.twitter.com/7yLbIxGQWt
— Fellowship of Fans (@FellowshipFans) July 26, 2024
Most fans of The Lord of the Rings will recall Celeborn as the husband of Galadriel who meets with The Fellowship in Lothlorien. In the books, Celeborn has a far more expansive role going back into The First Age and into The Second Age, the time period covered by The Rings of Power, but he hasn't appeared in Amazon's series yet despite his wife playing a major role. Up to this point, many fans have been confused by his absence, but given the role he ultimately plays in the forging of the rings (which we won't spoil here), it seems pretty important that Celeborn appear eventually.
What's especially interesting is that at one point in the first season of The Rings of Power, Galadriel indicates that she believes Celeborn is dead. It sounds like we might be in for a tearful reunion soon.
"Okay, but who is Glorfindel?" you ask, having not read The Lord of the Rings trilogy or the Silmarrillion! Well, I reply, pushing my glasses up my nose, Glorfindel is a high elf who has not yet made an appearance in The Lord of the Rings films of recent years. He is best known for rescuing Frodo in The Fellowship of the Ring after Frodo is wounded by a Nazgûl, lending his horse to the hobbit while summoning the power of the river to sweep away pursuers. That might sound familiar - Arwen filled that role in Peter Jackson's interpretation of Fellowship, and Glorfindel was nowhere to be found.
But Glorfindel's part goes beyond that in the books, and has a few other mentions in Fellowship as well as an appearance in The Return of the King's appendices. He's the dude who makes the prophecy that the Witch-king of Angmar will not fall by the "hand of man," which Éowyn ultimately fulfills in Return of the King with the epic, "no man am I!" Glorfindel also appears in The Silmarillion, where he actually dies pre-Fellowship, leading Tolkien scholars to believe for a while that Tolkien messed up and just accidentally used the same name for two different guys. This was later rectified canonically in posthumous publications of Tolkien's background work, with Glorfindel being reincarnated by the Valar in the Third Age.
Over the years, Glorfindel has become a bit of a fan-favorite, possibly as a result of his sidelining in Peter Jackson's trilogy and the goofiness around him getting reincarnated. Though Glorfindel has made a few appearances over the years in video games and other supporting content, he's largely never shown up in major popular adaptations. But canonically, he certainly would have been around for Rings of Power, so hopefully McCay's comment amounts to more than just a tease. The good news is, we've already got confirmation that at least one beloved absentee character will appear in Season 2: buckle up folks, the merry Tom Bombadil is coming!
At the same panel, we got a brand new trailer for Season 2 of The Rings of Power featuring creatures like Ents, spiders, and yes, the Balrog. We gave the show's first season an 8/10, saying it "largely succeeds by staying faithful to J. R. R. Tolkien’s themes and tone, if not all the specifics of his canon."
You can catch up on everything announced at SDCC 2024 right here.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
