Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies that the story truly became a household name. The movies were so influential that they often seep into Amazon Prime Video's Lord of the Rings show, notably in one intriguing scene.

Debuting in 2022 to huge viewership amid fan outcry about diversions from canon, Rings of Power boosted both Amazon Prime and Tolkien book sales. Showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne declared it (via Lord of the Rings' Sauron, literature and cinema's greatest villain. Charlie Vickers plays this villain in his fair form in season 1, masquerading as an original mortal character called Halbrand, and again in season 2, in the alternate, lore-friendly fair form of Annatar. But Jack Lowden once played Sauron in one scene that appears to be directly influenced by the trilogy.

Sauron's Deaths In The Lord Of The Rings Movies & The Rings Of Power Are Almost Identical

Sauron's Rings of Power Death Appears Influenced By The LOTR Trilogy

By the end of Rings of Power season 2, the show has fully showcased Sauron's identity, going so far as to flash back to his past in a direct reference to the 2000s movie trilogy. Season 2 actually opens with this flashback, from Sauron's perspective, in the same way as season 1 opens with a flashback from Galadriel's (Morfydd Clark) perspective. It shows the body Sauron had at the end of the First Age before he created his Halbrand form. Played by Jack Lowden, this Sauron meets an untimely end.

As one of Lord of the Rings' immortal Maiar, Sauron would survive in spirit form, but his body is stabbed to death by Orcs and Adar, causing it to implode and send a blinding blast of power shooting outward from it. This flash of bright light is accompanied by cold temperatures that freeze the northern waste around the fortress as it zooms out. This recalls the flash of bright light bursting from Sauron's defeated body in the prologue to The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Sauron's armor is left broken in the movie.

In Rings of Power, Sauron's body evaporates after this blast of power leaves him, leaving behind a pile of clothes and some black blood on the floor. In Fellowship of the Ring, it isn't clear if Sauron has a body under the armor or if the armor is his body, although concept art sketches suggest a demonic form under the armor. Sauron's helmet is shown in the movie landing on the floor after his body is destroyed, so his body could well have evaporated underneath his clothing, like it did in Rings of Power.

Do Peter Jackson's Lord Of The Rings Movies & The Rings Of Power Exist In The Same Canon?

The Show & Movie Trilogy Have Completely Different Creators

Although the Lord of the Rings movies and Rings of Power technically exist in the same canon, they are made by completely different creators and don't follow the same narrative rules. New Line Cinema, a subset of Warner Bros., made the trilogy, which was directed by Peter Jackson, with a script by Jackson, Stephen Sinclair, Fran Walsh, and Philippa Boyens. Although New Line Cinema helped make Rings of Power, the show was largely produced by Amazon MGM Studios, with directors ranging widely from J. A. Bayona to Charlotte Brändström.

The Tolkien Estate insisted that Amazon set their show in The Lord of the Rings' Second Age (via Syfy). This may have been to avoid confusing crossover with the movies, which are set in the Third Age. However, the trilogy and show both have rights access to the same source material and are therefore singing from the same hymn sheet. While Rings of Power includes original material, it has often stayed true to Jackson's version of events. Sauron's death scene in The Lord of the Rings is just one example of this, with Sauron's armor in the show also reflecting the trilogy.

Source: THR, Syfy