Series The Lord of the Rings ofAmazon is already in the throes of controversy, with Rings of Powerpresenting dwarf women without beards, in total rupture with the story imagined by Tolkien. First revealed in a 2022 Super Bowl commercial, the trailer gives a first look at the massive prequel series of the Lord of the Rings. Although the trailer received a mixed reception when it aired, there was universal outcry from the Lord of the Rings fanbase over the dwarf princess. say (Sophia Nomvete), whose absence of a beard made those familiar with the original works of JRR Tolkien.
Incorporating the tales of Tolkien taken from Silmarillion, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power recount the history of the Second Age of Middle-earth and the 2,500 years that preceded the war of the ring. Rings of Power focuses particularly on the myriad deceptions of Sauron and on the making of the 20 rings that constitute the backbone of the conflicts of the Third Age described in the original trilogy of the Lord of the Rings of Peter Jackson. However, the Amazon series has far less source material than its predecessors, leaving showrunners JD Payne and patrick mckay a little more space for artistic expression in contrast to peter jackson for the trilogies Lord of Rings and The Hobbit.
Before the reveal of his character, say of Khazad-dûm deservedly generated a lot of excitement as the first female dwarf to be portrayed in the franchise The Lord of the Rings. Strong and outspoken character who ruled the kingdom of La Moria as the sister of Thorin Oakenshieldshe is the only female dwarf ever named by Tolkien, a passage from the novel The Hobbit is dedicated to the courageous deaths of his sons during the battle of the five armies. Therefore, the say from Rings of Power was seen as a very attractive proposition, able to tie together much of the existing dwarven history of Tolkien between the events of Rings to be able to and the movies of Peter Jackson.
This enthusiasm, however, was almost completely dissipated following to the first images of Say, that go against the history of the dwarves of Tolkien. The speech of Gimli in The Two Towers is a good example, with the Warrior stating that Dwarf women ” are so similar in voice and appearance that they are often mistaken for dwarf men“. The fact that Disa does not have a beard therefore seems to go against the source that Rings of Power are supposed to honor, which angered many fans. The sparse hair in the image, which has actually eluded many of the fans due to the ombre, is by no means a satisfying response to readers.
Whether or not this criticism and controversy is considered fair probably depends on how much flexibility audiences are willing to give directors when they carry and adapt the original stories of Tolkien. Those in favor of the representation of bearded female dwarves as Tolkien wrote believe that the series Rings of Power doesn’t do justice to its source material, while those willing to bend on this issue buy into the idea of artistic license, as well as the ability to better distinguish Disa from her predominantly male counterparts.
The trailer for Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power opened the door to controversy, mostly driven by Disa’s drastic departure from the typical dwarf appearance.