The Lord of the Rings series on Amazon Prime follows on from Peter Jackson’s fantasy trilogy and brings us a reunion with some of the most impressive beasts ever to stomp onto Middle-earth’s battlefields in season 2.
The new Middle-earth epic The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is set to return to Amazon Prime this year. Season 2 of the fantasy series does not yet have a specific start date, but we now know of some impressive creatures that will be making another appearance in the series after the film trilogy.
Big Amazon visit: Lord of the Rings series picks up the oliphants for season 2
At its core, season 2 of the Lord of the Rings series will revolve around Sauron’s rise and the continued forging of the titular Rings of Power. Amazon is also bringing back familiar fantasy characters that many will already know from Peter Jackson’s films: After the Balrog in season 1, we are almost certain to see Frodo’s most sinister opponent again. And Kankra is apparently not the only oversized creature to return.
As the fan site Fellowship of Fans, known for its mostly reliable leaks, has discovered, we can expect a reunion with a few powerful Middle-earth creatures in season 2 of The Rings of Power: the Mûmakil, better known as Oliphants.
(The Oliphants in the Lord of the Rings films)
The elephant-like giants made their first real-life film appearance in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Here, Sam (Sean Astin) spied the fantasy animals marveling on their way to Mordor before he and Frodo (Elijah Wood) were captured by Faramir’s people.
In J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings mythology, the oliphants originated from the south, often carried battle towers on their backs and were ridden by southerners (the Haradrim) who fought on Sauron’s side. In The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, they made their grand entrance at the Battle of Pelennor, and no one will ever forget Legolas (Orlando Bloom) bringing down one of the beasts with his bow and arrow as a trunk-slider.
What role do the fantasy elephants play in Lord of the Rings season 2?
Unfortunately, nothing is known beyond the leaked internal listing of the oliphants, i.e. their general appearance in the production of season 2. So their Amazon appearance in The Rings of Power could be as brief as a few seconds (as with the Ents in season 1) or it could involve a whole big battle.
Incidentally, the oliphants are also set to appear again in the animated Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, which will be released this year. And at least this cinema appearance already has a start date of December 12, 2024
