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 was 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, the 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 reached 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 everything was said and done.