Amazon’s ‘The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power’ Star Defends Series’ Race-Swapping: “A Lot Of People Speaking On Behalf Of Tolkien, I Don’t Know If They Understand The Spirit Of Tolkien”
The Rings of Power star Ismael Cruz Cordova is standing by the Amazon series’ decision to race-swap numerous elements of J.R.R. Tolkien’s original The Lord of the Rings lore.
From the Númenórean royal Tar-Míriel, to the entire Harefoot breed of Hobbits, to the very race of Silvian Elves from which Cordova’s character, Arondir, hails from, The Rings of Power features numerous instances wherein characters or races previously depicted in both Tolkien’s works and its various adaptations as white were ‘diversified’ by Amazon in their translation to the small screen.
And while many fans have taken issue with this blatant attempt to use a storied author’s classic work as a platform for identity politicking, the aforementioned Cordova has dismissed their concerns as simply them ‘missing the point’ of Tolkien’s work.
Speaking to his casting during Entertainment Weekly’s ‘Brave Warriors‘ panel at the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con, per a recap provided by the outlet, the actor asserted, “My character is not in the lore of the Lord of the Rings, and that was an issue for some people.”
“[It was] a big controversy of me being the first elf that wasn’t white,” the actor continued. “I loved the nerve that I pinched. I really do. I was so excited to create something new. A lot of people speaking on behalf of Tolkien, I don’t know if they understand the spirit of Tolkien. His work speaks of the times.”
Turning to the addition of his completely new and original character to Tolkien’s lore, Cordova opined, “We work with these deep existential questions, and those questions change with the times. We can’t retell something like Lord of the Rings today, 2024, without introducing different existential questions, and that comes in the form of character.”
“We had never really seen an elf that was the people’s elf,” he told attendees. “We’d always seen elves that were royal and regal, but we hadn’t seen one that was a frontline soldier, a guy that got an assignment kind of thing. It was pretty cool to represent that, and have a voice within elven-ness. I think a lot of people identify with this elf and his plight.”
Closing out his thoughts on the ‘modern audience’ updates Amazon made to Tolkien’s work, Cordova concluded, “It is necessary to revise things and represent and exist.”
“I think a lot of people look at us to affirm their own existence,” the actor declared, “so I’m happy people can look at that and look at any of us and see themselves in this beautiful world we all should belong in — fantasy.”
For those masochists out there among our readers, The Rings of Power Season 2 hits Amazon Prime on August 29th.
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