The Stranger and Sauron from Rings of Power
Amazon Prime Video’s The Rings of Power has confirmed the appearance of an iconic Lord of the Rings character, but it must avoid repeating a video game’s previous controversial mistake. The Rings of Power season 2’s release date is imminent, and Prime Video has already revealed some major character name-drops that will be appearing. Included is Tom Bombadil, one of the major omissions from Peter Jackson’s LOTR trilogy. Another major character is Shelob, the villainous spider of Torech Ungol, who appears in Peter Jackson’s The Return of the King.

This wouldn’t be the first time Shelob returns to Lord of the Rings media since the original film trilogy. The character was utilized in the 2017 video game Middle-earth: Shadow of War, though it was met with controversy, as Shelob appeared in the form of a woman. The Rings of Power season 2 already has a steep hill to climb if it wants to win over more Tolkien fans, and this seven-year-old controversy has set a low bar for Shelob appearances. Hopefully, this will be an easy win for the TV adaptation.

The Rings Of Power Season 2’s Shelob Return Will Show A Different Version Of The Villain

Shelob Won’t Be As Big As Audiences Are Used To

Shelob attacking Isildur in The Rings of Power season 2

The Rings of Power’s version of Shelob won’t be a woman, given that actor Maxim Baldry teased a bit about what the portrayal would look like. Baldry plays Isildur in the Prime Video show’s cast, and in an interview with GamesRadar+, he described the fight his character would have with Shelob. Notably, he states, “Isildur is on the floor, and he has no idea where Shelob is, but he knows he’s in a spider’s cave, and there’s this push and pull between these two characters.” Shelob will definitely be a spider, though the trailer shows she will still look unfamiliar.

She’s the daughter of Ungoliant, making Shelob at least 6,000 years old, so the spider will still be a sizable threat to a human in the show.

Canonically, Shelob was alive during the Second Age and settled in Cirith Ungol before Sauron took control of Mordor. Given that The Rings of Power occurs in the Second Age and The Lord of the Rings happens thousands of years later, Shelob will be smaller than she appeared in The Return of the King. She’s the daughter of Ungoliant, making Shelob at least 6,000 years old, so the spider will still be a sizable threat to a human in the show. She just won’t be as big as when Frodo meets her later on.

The Rings Of Power Shouldn’t Repeat Shadow Of War’s Shelob Controversy

The Rings Of Power Writers Have Made Too Many Creative Decisions Already

Shelob in Middle-Earth Shadow of War

The Rings of Power avoiding Shadow of War’s mistake is a win for the series in some capacity. After the divisive response to season 1, the show really can’t afford to continue making needless creative decisions regarding Tolkien’s work. Given that they’re already having Shelob fight Isildur, which never happens in Tolkien’s mythology, continuing to stray away from the original writing would just be in poor taste for The Rings of Power.