The Rings Of Power Season 1 Storyline We Never Got To See Due To Celebrimbor's Recasting
The sheer number of storylines that "The Rings of Power" tried to tackle in Season 1 was a bit overwhelming for both new and old fans of Middle-earth. For the casual viewers, it was a lot trying to trace wandering Wizards and Harfoots and attempting to comprehend Númenórean and Elvish Second Age politicking. For the diehards, following new characters like Adar (Jospeh Mawle), Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi), Nori (Markella Kavenagh), and Disa (Sophia Nomvete) and fitting them into the greater canon story was equally challenging.
The show isn't slowing down heading into Season 2, either. It has charged ahead with its epic world-building by announcing not one but two new sets of main character castings, totaling 14 new faces for the show's already intimidating number of lead roles. The "Rings of Power" writers' room has shown that it isn't afraid to create new characters out of whole cloth for the show's storylines, either.
This isn't surprising, as Tolkien merely outlined events in the Second Age (I.E., he didn't write a full story to follow, as is the case with "The Lord of the Rings"). Even so, there are still many canon characters that haven't found their way into the production yet, like the Ringwraiths or Tom Bombadil, who's rumored to show up in Season 2.
The Dwarven master craftsman Narvi is also a minor yet popular canon character who builds a famous friendship with the Elven leader Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards). Fan site Fellowship of Fans recently reported that Narvi should be showing up in Season 2. In fact, the site, which is a popular hub for scoops, rumors, and all things Middle-earth, also provided an extra bit of info about why Celebrimbor's interactions with the Dwarves were so underplayed in Season 1.
Celebrimbor's recasting scrapped a Khazad-dûm storyline
Way back in July of 2021 (more than a year before "The Rings of Power" premiered) another fan site, TheOneRing.net, released an exclusive spy report with a buffet of rumors and claims. The list included the first mention of Harfoots and downplayed the rumor that "Game of Thrones"-style nudity would be rampant in the show (both of which were spot-on). It also claimed that Sauron would not be revealed in Season 1, which was close, but no cigar.
Tucked away in the lengthy list was a minor two-part item that said the ring-maker, Celebrimbor, had been recast and that the original person cast for the role was Aussie actor Tom Budge ("Candy," "The Proposition"). Now, Fellowship of Fans has added another facet to that story via their scoop (linked above), which claims that Celebrimbor wasn't just recast, but that the recasting threw off his entire story arc for the first eight episodes. The specific text reads, "In season 1 when Celebrimbor and Elrond reach the door of Khazad-dum, Celebrimbor was meant to enter with Elrond and have an extended storyline in the Dwarven kingdom. Due to the Cele recasting and the amount of scale work needed in reshoots when Charles came aboard this was ultimately scrapped- Logistical reasons."
Couple this with the site's exclusive scoop that Celebrimbor's best friend and Dwarven colleague Narvi is officially on board for Season 2, and it looks like we might finally see Celebrimbor start to connect more with his nearby Dwarven neighbors before long. It's a welcome, canon-centered part of the story that was sorely missing in Season 1, and it could have a major impact on the trajectory of the show's five-season story arc before all is said and done.