Rings Of Power Star Speaks Up On Galadriel Controversy
Amazon's new Rings of Power series is breaking records already, but the Galadriel controversy just had to be addressed.
Every franchise of movies brings with it a list of core characters that the series wouldn’t be the same in their absence. Star Wars wouldn’t be the same without the Skywalkers, Han Solo, and Obi-Wan. The Marvel Cinematic Universe wouldn’t be the same without the original Avengers, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, Clint Barton, Natasha Romanoff, and Thor Odinson. The Lord of the Rings franchise wouldn’t be what it is today without Sam, Frodo, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli. Then there are the side characters that push our heroes through the adventure with nuggets of wisdom and a helping hand. In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, that was Galadriel (Cate Blanchett). The character is now the center of the story taking place thousands of years earlier on Amazon Prime, and fans believe she has changed. The actress has her theory as to why.
In a sit-down with Variety, the interviewer tells Galadriel actress Morfydd Clark that some fans have a very specific image of the character in their head. She describes her as a regal woman of the woods and not physical in any way. Of course, this is not the Galadriel that we have met in Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power. The actress gave her insight into why there is a difference between the character in the two projects. Clark says that in the later works, her serenity is hard-earned. She believes you don’t get to that level of calm wisdom without going through things. The actress talks about how in the Second Age when this takes place, the world, the elves, and Galadriel are in different places. She goes on to discuss how her growth mirrored that of her people.
Set thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, Rings of Power chronicles what happened during the Second Age of Middle Earth. It makes sense that the audience would be greeted with a different version of the character. Since the forging of the rings and the rise of Sauron are still in the future, there is a lot the character and the kingdom still have to go through before we meet Bilbo in The Shire. This didn’t keep a number of fans from review bombing the series and tanking the user rating before the release even took place. The practice got so bad that the streaming service turned off the rating and comment section until the trolls move on to something else. Typically saved for Star Wars and Marvel, the Rings of Power and Galadriel couldn’t avoid the controversy.
Rings of Power is the largest project ever taken on by Amazon Prime, and you can bet they are sticking by it. After purchasing it for $250 million and committing to a 50-episode run, the showrunners are likely to show Galadriel’s full past, including her transformation from an impetuous warrior to a regal woman of the woods. If only the trolls and internet review bombers could exercise a little bit of patience to see some character growth.
