When does Rings of Power take place? Lord of the Rings timeline explained

Nailing down Rings of Power’s place in the Lord of the Rings timeline can be a bit of a headache, especially since it seems to tinker with Tolkien’s writings – so we’re going to make it as simple as we can.

With the long-awaited return of Rings of Power, fans are getting ready to dip back into the world of Middle-earth.

But, as always, questions arise about how the show fits in. Rings of Power will feature multiple characters from throughout Lord of the Rings, but it is also a wholly unique entity from the films so many fans love.

The Rings of Power is a prequel

Rings of Power is set during the Second Age. This puts Rings of Power thousands of years before the events of the next story in the timeline, The Hobbit.

Author J.R.R. Tolkien indicated in a 1958 letter (published in the collection The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien) that the stories took place around 6,000 years before the present day. He said the modern era (or, at least, modern to him at the time) was somewhere between the Fifth and Seventh Age.

The Ages span thousands of years, though Tolkien’s letters hint that the ages may shorten as time goes on. He doesn’t explain if that is the case or why it may be, though.

Where does The Lord of the Rings trilogy fit in?

The original Lord of the Rings Trilogy is set in the Third Age, an era in which magic has faded and great dynasties have fallen.

Outside of Rings of Power, most other Lord of the Rings media is set in The Third Age. This includes The Hobbit trilogy, the Lord of the Rings games, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor and its sequel, Shadow of War, and the upcoming anime The War of the Rohirrim.

Notes for a potential sequel set in The Fourth Age, The New Shadow, were discovered following Tolkien’s death. The notes are incomplete, though, and it’s believed Tolkien scrapped the idea long before his death.

The show changes certain things

Rings of Power does take liberties with its own timeline so it can focus on the story without having to worry about the nuance of the lore that precedes it. Most of the show draws inspiration from The Silmarillion, a posthumous Tolkien that serves as a prequel to The Hobbit.

However, it’s also changed things due to legal issues, as Amazon doesn’t have all the rights to The Silmarillion. As such, Rings of Power draws heavy inspiration from appendices describing and summarizing the events that Tolkien wrote for Lord of the Rings.

As one fan explained on the Lord of the Rings Reddit, “The Rings of Power is a completely different kind of adaptation. It’s basically extrapolated from an outline of a story told across The Lord of the Rings and its appendices in about 30 pages of text, if that. There’s maybe 400 more pages that Amazon don’t have the rights to.”

Which characters appear in both timelines?

A few characters in Rings of Power also appeared in the original film series. Galadriel is the most notable, having been shifted to a sort of main character, unlike her role in the books.

We also see a younger version of Elrond, the High-Lord of Rivendell, and Gil-Galad, the last High-King of the Elves.

Isildur, an ancestor to Aragorn, also appears in The Rings of Power. He’s only briefly seen in Fellowship of the Ring, defeating Sauron and refusing to give up the One Ring.

There’s also the Stranger, who is heavily implied to be Gandalf. There’s also the looming threat of Sauron, who will finally appear in Season 2.

Keep up to date with our recaps of Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4, and Episode 5, and check out our breakdown of Tom Bombadil and our predictions for the Dark Wizard. You can also read our guides on Morgoth’s origin, the Undying Lands, and Forodwaith.