What does Sauron get up to during Amazon's The Rings of Power is a different box of balrogs altogether. Set during Tolkien's Second Age thousands of years earlier, The Rings of Power will draw from disparate stories mostly collected in The Silmarillion (but not in a form that vaguely resembles a traditional book.)
This looseness gives Amazon some canon wiggle-room with The Rings of Power, but one unmistakable Second Age truth is that Sauron was the era's main antagonist. The Lord of the Rings depicts Sauron as a returning force - terrible long ago, and now attempting to restore that strength. The Second Age is that "long ago" period where Sauron reigned supreme at the height of his fearsome influence.
It seems inevitable, therefore, that Sauron will appear in The Rings of Power - a story set primarily within Tolkien's Second Age. And yet the Dark Lord has proved surprisingly elusive in marketing materials. Here's Sauron's Second Age role explained, and whether he'll make trouble in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
What Sauron Does During LOTR's Second Age
Sauron begins Lord of the Rings' Second Age fairly low-key. The First Age ended with the Dark Lord's boss, Morgoth, suffering a brutal defeat at the hands of the angelic Valar, and although Sauron escaped, he was left weak and depleted, with Morgoth's forces (which included balrogs and dragons) strewn across Middle-earth. Sauron spends the first 1500 years of the Second Age regrouping. He makes camp in Mordor for the first time, beginning construction on the famous black landmarks Frodo and Sam will sneak past in Lord of the Rings, and gathers an army while remaining hidden in the shadows.
Sauron's next big Second Age move is how The Rings of Power gets its title. At this point, Sauron still possesses a potent shape-shifting ability. He disguises himself in a "fair" form, takes the pseudonym "Annatar" and sneakily infiltrates the elves, specifically targeting their greatest smith, Celebrimbor. Providing Celebrimbor with new skills and magics, Sauron maneuvers the elves into crafting the famous Rings of Power, and as told by The Fellowship of the Ring, these are split between men, dwarves and elves as Sauron secretly crafts the One Ring to rule them all. Sadly for Lord of the Rings' big bad, this ploy is only semi-successful. The kings of men, predictably, crumple like paper under Sauron's evil will, but the dwarves prove too sturdy to corrupt, and the elves remove their rings just in time.
War breaks out, largely fought between Sauron and the elves, and the pointy-eared folk win thanks to reinforcements from Númenor - an isle of blessed men located between Middle-earth and Valinor. Sauron retreats into the shadows, and after another 1500 years or so of rebuilding, attempts to dominate Middle-earth once again. Also once again, he's defeated by the Númenoreans. This time, however, they take him prisoner...
This proves a fatal mistake, as Sauron's cunning charm allows him to ascend from a prisoner to the king's right-hand man, turning the idyllic isle into a land worshiping at Morgoth's altar. Sauron convinces Númenor to launch an attack upon Valinor, but Eru himself - the God of Tolkien mythology - intervenes to destroy the island and its army, sparing only a few who remained faithful (Elendil and Isildur among them). Sauron too survived, but was soon defeated back in Middle-earth by the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, which ends with Isildur cutting the ring from Sauron's finger and calling time upon the Second Age.
Will Sauron Appear In LOTR: The Rings Of Power?
Given his central role throughout Lord of the Rings' Second Age, Sauron will inevitably appear in The Rings of Power. This is now confirmed by the SDCC 2022 trailer, which finally addresses the Dark Lord directly after dancing around the topic thus far. The more important question is how and when that appearance comes.
The Rings of Power trailer footage includes a key conversation where Galadriel warns an enemy is coming, while Elrond assures her the fighting is over. Their exchange might suggest that The Rings of Power begins circa 1400 of the Second Age, and Amazon's TV series will gradually build towards the arrival of Annatar, the creation of the Rings (hence the title), and outright war between Sauron and the elves. On the other hand, The Rings of Power also includes Isildur and Elendil among the cast (Maxim Baldry and Lloyd Owen, respectively), setting up how Sauron corrupts Númenor ahead of its eventual downfall.
Beginning The Rings of Power in an era where Sauron has already been captured by Númenor would feel odd without first showing how he got there. Audiences will, therefore, likely see Sauron's Second Age story play out from his rebirth as Annatar to losing the Ring - assuming Amazon takes The Rings of Power to its 5-season ceiling. However many faces Sauron has in Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the villain is clearly in one of his Second Age rebuilding phases, defeated but alive after a war against the elves.
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