Despite many exciting shots in Amazon's new The Rings of Power trailer, princess Disa's lack of facial hair has drawn the ire of LOTR fans.
Amazon's The Lord of the Rings series is already mired in controversy, with The Rings of Power showcasing beard-less Dwarven women that break Tolkien's lore. First revealed as a 2022 Super Bowl advertisement, The Rings of Power teaser trailer grants a first look at Amazon's grandiose The Lord of the Rings prequel series. While the trailer has received a decidedly mixed reception upon release, there has been a universal outcry from The Lord of the Rings fanbase regarding the Dwarven princess Disa (Sophia Nomvete), whose lack of a beard has startled those familiar with J.R.R. Tolkien's original works.
Incorporating Tolkien's tales from The Silmarillion, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power tells the story of Middle Earth's Second Age and the 2,500 years before the War of the Ring. In particular, The Rings of Power focuses on Sauron's myriad deceptions and the forging of the 20 rings that form the backbone of the Third Age conflicts depicted in Peter Jackson's original The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Amazon's The Rings of Power, however, has much less source material to fall back on than its predecessors, allowing showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay a little more room for artistic expression than Jackson was able to exercise across both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies.
Yet while much of the new Rings of Power teaser has been met cautious with optimism, 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 has angered The Lord of the Rings fandom, with both The Rings of Power trailer and Vanity Fair's exclusive first look at the series clearly showing Disa bare-faced in direct opposition to the franchise's prior statements. Gimli's (John Rhys-Davies) monologue in 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. Yes, 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.
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 passage 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, has almost entirely dissipated following the first look images of Disa, which go 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, seems to act in direct opposition to the source material The Rings of Power purports to be honoring - angering many fans. The sparse hair in the reveal image - which was actually missed by a good deal of commenters thanks to shadow - will not be 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. The Rings of Power's trailer has certainly given fans many reasons to be excited about the Amazon series, but it has also opened the door to its fair share of controversy predominantly driven by Disa's stark departure from a typical Dwarven appearance.
Next: LOTR: Rings Of Power Teaser Trailer Breakdown: 19 Story Reveals & Secrets
