Lord of the Rings fans who are eagerly awaiting Rings of Power Season 2 have finally gotten their first look at one of the franchise’s most divisive characters: Tom Bombadil.
The first shot from Rings of Power Season 2 of Bombadil (played by Rory Kinnear), shared by Variety, shows the divisive Lord of the Rings character talking to Daniel Weyman’s Stranger (whom many believe to be Gandalf).
First look at Rory Kinnear as Tom Bombadil in ‘LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER’ Season 2.
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— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) May 29, 2024
Bombadil is an interesting facet of Lord of the Rings history. He briefly appears in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring to save the hobbits early on, but then seemingly falls off the face of the Earth.
In his brief appearance in the books, he saves Merry and Pippin by singing Old Man Willow to sleep in the forest and shelters the Hobbits for the evening. The encounter is really only notable for Bombadil briefly handling the One Ring, which is shown to have no effect on him.
The character of “Old Tom” Bombadil is omitted entirely from the two most notable adaptions of the books to date — 1978’s The Lord of the Rings animated feature and Peter Jackson’s 2003 epic. Both adaptations felt his presence was inconsequential to the overall narrative.
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It sounds grim, but they may be right. Rings of Power will mark Bombadil’s first adaptation outside of the books, and even in those, his presence is minute. After Fellowship of the Ring, Bombadil only appears in two later poetry collections, 1962’s The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and 1997’s Tales from the Perilous Realm.
Many fans are calling the character “boring” on social media, and admitting they skip chapters Bombadil is in when reading the books.
But Bombadil is not without fans, with many sharing how excited they are to finally see the character brought to life. As one X user says, “One of the most beloved characters, played by one of the best character actors alive and people here still finding a reason to cry. We don’t deserve good things.”
Bombadil’s reception will definitely be something to watch, as fans can finally gauge the character in live action when The Rings of Power Season 2 premieres on August 29, 2024. Until then, you can read about how Season 2 will fix Sauron, or catch up on all the other TV series streaming this month.