When it comes to fantasy villains, few can compare to The Lord of the Rings’ Sauron — A.k.a. The Dark Lord and the actual Lord of the Rings (for a time, anyway).
Often regarded as the stereotypical antagonist, Sauron regularly wreaks havoc upon Mordor in his quest to rule all of Middle-Earth across J.R.R. Tolkien’s stories. In the process, he regularly draws the ire of our favorite warrior/dwarf-elf-wizard/hobbit heroes. Simply put, Sauron is an ominous enemy you’re supposed to be afraid of.
About that: I don’t have the best news.
With Amazon Prime Video’s new prequel series — The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power — releasing in early September, fans got a first look at a younger Sauron. A Sauron who might not be a complete evil monster yet.
And uh, well — let’s just say he doesn’t look like someone who has a nickname of THE DARK LORD:
First look at Anson Boon as Sauron in ‘THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER’ #SDCC pic.twitter.com/3VTzlYl9jM
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 22, 2022
Huh. Why does the lord of phantoms and dark beasts look like he wants to get my attention so he can find out where the real Slim Shady is?
That is a rough and overly cutesy look for someone who’s supposed to be feared. Lord of the Rings fans could not take Young Sauron, a.k.a. The Lord of Eight Mile, seriously in the slightest.
