The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Comic-Con trailer teases elves, dwarves, and a very angry balrog

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power brought a little Middle-earth to San Diego Comic-Con.

Amazon Prime Video's much-hyped fantasy series took over Hall H on Friday, culminating with a jaw-dropping trailer that teases elves, dwarves, and one very angry balrog. The streaming giant has shared only a handful of teasers over the last year, but the show's Sept. 2 premiere date is rapidly approaching, and the Comic-Con footage is fans' best look yet at the show's new vision of Middle-earth.

Noted Tolkien super-nerd Stephen Colbert was on hand to moderate the panel, accompanied by a full orchestra conducted by series composer Bear McCreary. Colbert opened up about his own lifelong love of Tolkien's work — especially the little-explored Second Age.

"It's a story of hope and encroaching darkness, unlikely friendships, of home, and this being Tolkien, it's a story of loss," Colbert told the audience. "I've seen a little bit of it, but I have declined their kind offer to watch the entire season because I want to discover, along with you and everyone else, what parts oof that known story are going to be told."

Created by JD Payne and Patrick McKay, the series is adapted from J.R.R. Tolkien's original writing about the Second Age, a vast period of Middle-earth history set thousands of years before the events of The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit. The Second Age was a period of great upheaval, and the trailer teases many of the major events — including Sauron's original rise to power and the first forging of the One Ring.

With a massive ensemble cast and a variety of locations, The Rings of Power will stretch across Middle-earth, from the advanced island kingdom of Númenor and the regal elven realm of Lindon to the deep dwarven mines of Khazad-dûm and the distant human settlements of the Southlands. Some of the trailer's most intriguing reveals should seem familiar to Tolkien fans: At one point, we see the elf Galadriel (played by Morfydd Clark) peering into a palantir, one of the legendary seeing stones that allow their viewers to communicate across great distances, or even peer into possible futures.

But perhaps the biggest reveal was saved for the very end of the trailer: a massive, roaring balrog, wreathed in shadow and flame. Balrogs are some of Tolkien's most notorious creations, ancient demons who wield immense power. In The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf famously falls in battle against a balrog, after encountering one in the bowels of Moria. Is this the same one, awoken from its slumber after the dwarves delved too deep? We'll have to wait and see when The Rings of Power debuts Sept. 2 on Prime Video.

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