As production on season 2 of The Rings of Power commenced, the first character to be confirmed to appear is fan-favorite Tom Bombadil. The character was cut from both adaptions of The Lord of the Rings simply because the character doesn’t move the plot forward. He is an enigma set in the Lord of the Rings Universe and doesn’t concern himself with the wars of Men. He lives with his wife, Goldberry, in the forest, and when faced with The One Ring, literally nothing happens. And he goes about his day singing and being merry. For all the mystery surrounding the character, he has gained a bit of a cult following simply because Tolkien never explains anything about his existence.
The showrunners of The Rings of Power admit that the character is one you would cut in a film adaptation. However, because they are adapting the series for Amazon Prime, they were able to incorporate him into their narrative with an original plot. Actor Rory Kinnear will play him. He recently played M’s chief of staff in the last few James Bond films and Frankenstein’s creature in Penny Dreadful. Bombadil will travel from his house in Withywindle to Rhun to witness the decay of nature. He also will help The Stranger along his path to learning about his history as an Istari.
The Rings of Power returns to Prime Video on August 29th
Source: VanityFair
