Amazon's The Hobbit movies.
Yet while much of the new Rings of Power teaser has been met cautious with optimism, the perceived Disa's lack of a beard is an aesthetic decision that goes against every existing piece of Dwarven lore Tolkien created. This character design choice angered The Lord of the Rings fandom since fans first saw Disa bare-faced in direct opposition to the franchise's prior statements about the character's intended appearance. This anger hasn't waned post-release, despite Disa's personality and story arc being unobjectionable. It seems like a small detail, but it matters, as it's one of the most defining facts The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers best exemplifies this, with the Dwarven warrior clearly stating that male and female Dwarves are indistinguishable from one another due to their bearded appearances. On closer inspection Disa does have facial hair under her jawline, but it is a far removal from her being identical to a male dwarf.
Tolkien Explicitly Stated Dwarf Women Have Beards
Before her character's reveal, there was rightfully much excitement surrounding Disa of Khazad-dûm as the first Dwarven woman to be portrayed in The Lord of the Rings franchise. A strong, forthright character who led the Kingdom of Moria as Thorin Oakenshield's sister, she is the only Dwarven woman ever named by Tolkien, with a age dedicated in The Hobbit novel to her sons' valiant deaths at the Battle of the Five Armies. As a result, The Rings of Power's Disa was seen as a highly compelling proposition that can knit together much of Tolkien's existing Dwarven lore between The Rings of Power's events and the LOTR movies.
This excitement, however, almost entirely dissipated following the first-look images of Disa, which showed how her character design went against Tolkien's prior Dwarf lore. Gimli's speech in The Two Towers is a prime example here, with the warrior stating that Dwarven women "are so alike in voice and appearance, that they are often mistaken for Dwarf-men." Disa's lack of a full beard, therefore, acts in direct opposition to the source material The Rings of Power purports to be honoring, angering many fans. Disa's sparse hair in the reveal image – which was actually missed by a good deal of commenters thanks to shadow in the ire-generating first looks – wasn't a sufficient or satisfying answer to that problem.
Whether this criticism and controversy is viewed as fair or not likely is governed by how much flexibility audiences are willing to give McKay and Payne when translating Tolkien's original stories. Those in favor of portraying bearded female Dwarves as written by Tolkien feel The Rings of Power show is not honoring its source material, while those willing to bend on this issue subscribe to the idea of artistic license, as well as the ability to better distinguish Disa from her predominantly male counterparts.
Rings Of Power Missed An Opportunity To Subvert Gender Norms
the male Dwarves of Middle-earth consider attractive qualities in the beards of their women, or whether they find it strange human and elvish women don't have facial hair. Demands of the Tolkien fandom aside, The Rings Of Power could have created something intriguing by staying true to the source material, and by opting for the "safer" design choice, Amazon has inadvertently robbed itself of an opportunity to make the show more memorable.
