Since his creation in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, Tom Bombadil has largely been left out of adaptations. Despite not making the cut for Peter Jackson’s acclaimed trilogy, the character will finally make his live-action debut in the second season of the Prime Video series, The Rings of Power. Now, in an interview with GamesRadar, James Bond actor Rory Kinnear, who stars as Tom Bombadil in the series, discussed the difference between Jackson’s movies and why it’s taken so long for the mysterious character to be brought to the screen.
“Well, I guess with the other adaptations, I think Peter Jackson said it, it doesn’t necessarily drive the story on, particularly in the narrative of it. But in the pages and in people’s imaginations, he is this incredible character that has so much knowledge and so much sense of fun and so much life about him, as well as the whole of humanity and history and the earth. This is sort of representative of all that Earth is, and Middle-earth.”
So far, the knowledge of Tom Bombadil’s role in the series is uncertain, but Rings of Power star Daniel Weyman has teased the interactions his character, The Stanger, will have with him. Weyman added that Bombadil is prominent throughout the books, “Even though he might not be present in all the scenes in the books, actually, he’s always sort of there because he’s so extraordinary.” He adds that it feels like he’s along with the readers on the journey, and he feels that it’s great for his character’s journey.
“His presence is so extraordinary that even when you’re not with him, he’s sort of in your mind because of how he’s interacted with you.”
How Will The Rings of Power Handle Tom Bombadil?
Thanks to The Rings of Power being a TV series, it has the option for longer storytelling. Kinnear talked about the positive of having weekly episodes, and praised showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay in the way they approached the character and his place in the story “in a different way” to Tokien.
“Obviously over multi-season episodic TV, you’ve got more time to investigate those stories. In the way that [showrunners] J.D. [Payne] and Patrick [McKay] are telling the story, they’re able to create a role for him that isn’t necessarily the one that he has in the books. So whilst they’re using that character, they are using him in a different way to how Tolkien did.”
The Rings of Power premiered its first season in September 2022. Set thousands of years before Tolkien’s novels, the show expands on the history of Middle-earth and follows the characters as they come to terms with the return of evil on Middle-earth. The second season has been described by showrunners as “ten times bigger” than the first, featuring battles honoring those of Tolkien’s imagination. It’s expected to be set right after the events of the first season, with Galadriel and her quest to destroy Sauron while exploring Middle-earth’s Second Age, focusing on the forging of the first three Rings and Sauron’s rise under the guise of Annatar.
In light of the upcoming release of the second season, the series’ first season has surpassed The Boys as the most popular show on Prime Video. The second season debuts on August 29, with a three-episode premiere, and five episodes will be released weekly until October 3. The first season is currently available to stream on Prime Video.