‘Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ trailer shows Galadriel as the hero

In a new trailer for the upcoming TV epic, set thousands of years before the original series, a younger Galadriel senses that evil is encroaching on Middle-Earth. Elven ruler Elrond, who also appeared in the original trilogy, tells the warrior elf to “put up [her] sword,” but she knows the enemy of all living things in Middle-earth needs to be vanquished.

He doesn’t get namechecked in the new trailer, but we know the source of that evil — Sauron, the dark lord who crafts the all-powerful One Ring that sets the plots of “The Hobbit” and the “Lord of the Rings” series in motion. (Series showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay confirmed earlier this year that “The Rings of Power” would focus on the rise of Sauron in addition to the forging of the rings and other familiar Tolkien tales.)

“Darkness will march over the face of the earth,” one character ominously utters. “It will be the end not just of our people, but all peoples.”

In one scene in the trailer, Galadriel, caked in ash, gazes upon countless bodies suspended in air above a fiery landscape. Middle-earth didn’t even look this terrifying when Frodo and Sam were nearly swallowed by lava on Mount Doom.

And though familiar characters like Galadriel and Elrond are returning, their original actors are not. Those roles, originated by Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving, respectively, are now portrayed by Morfydd Clark and Robert Aramayo. The cast also includes Benjamin Walker, Nazanin Boniadi and several lesser-known actors.