Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power stars tease romance between Galadriel and ‘Hot Sauron’ in season 2

Morfydd Clark and Charlie Vickers teased more romance between their Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power characters at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday (July 26).

Clark and Vickers play Galadriel and Halbrand (aka Sauron) in the Amazon Prime Video series based on JRR Tolkien's history of Middle-earth.

In season one, which aired in 2022, Galadriel rescues Halbrand after finding him lost at sea. There is romantic chemistry between the pair until it is revealed that Halbrand is actually the chief antagonist of the Lord of the Rings saga, the dark lord Sauron.

In the famous film trilogy, Sauron has been depicted as a towering, terrifying figure who wears a black helmet obscuring his face. Fans were therefore quick to dub Vickers’s iteration of the villain as “hot Sauron.”

At the show’s panel on Friday, which featured the cast and showrunners Patrick McKay and JD Payne, one fan took the opportunity to ask if there would be more “Haladriel” in season two during a Q&A segment. He asked the question “on behalf of fan fiction writers” who were in favour of the relationship.

Vickers and Clark exchanged a glance and debated between themselves whether they could answer the question. Vickers then confirmed, “I think we will,” leading to cheers from the audience.

Elsewhere, McKay teased the reveal of an LGBT+ character in the next season. When a fan asked if the queer community would see themselves in the show, McKay said, “Maybe you have already.”

Comic-Con audiences were also treated to a new trailer for the show’s second season, which showed the rings influencing their owners.

“Sauron sees himself of master of all Middle-earth,” Galadriel says at the beginning of the trailer. “He seeks to rule it not only through conquest but by bending the minds of all its peoples to his own and for that he needs not armies but rings.”

“In choosing to wear those rings, you have all become his collaborators,” Elrond tells her.

“I know you believe this ring is deceiving me, but I believe it is guiding me,” she responds.

Classic Lord of the Rings creatures were also shown, including the Ents, a Balrog and a giant spider.

The panel included Clark, Vickers, Robert Aramayo (Elrond), Benjamin Walker (Gil-galad), Ismael Cruz Córdova (Arondir), Charles Edwards (Celebrimbor), Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Miriel), Sophia Nomvete (Disa) and Tyroe Muhafidin (Theo), Daniel Weyman (The Stranger), Megan Richards (Poppy Proudfellow), Lloyd Owen (Elendil), Ema Horvath (E?rien) and Sam Hazeldine (Adar).

The Rings of Power returns to Prime Video on August 29.