The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay explain the thought process behind the show's confirmation that female dwarves do, in fact, have beards... in a manner of speaking.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Payne responded to an audience complaint that the dwarf wives in the show don't have facial hair as they do in the books. "They actually do," he answered. "We looked at various versions of what facial hair on dwarf women might look like. There are beard hairs applied lovingly one at a time [onto Disa actress Sophia Nomvete] and there are these sort of mutton chops on the side." McKay explained that there wasn't a clear path forward for them as far as facial hair on dwarf women was concerned, since "Tolkien himself — if you study his entire body of work — has answered this particular question both ways." He said. "There’s a very strong argument to be made that dwarf women should have beards, and a very strong argument to be made that they don’t. We’re happy with where we landed."
The Lord of the Rings' Bearded Dwarf Wives
The beard-or-no-beard debate has been going on for a while among The Rings of Power viewers. Back in July, Lindsay Weber, an executive producer on the show, attempted to put the confusion to rest, stating "I can confirm they have facial hair," adding "I can't wait for you to see more of it, you see more of it in the show."
However, facial hair isn't the only part of The Rings of Power that has been subject to critique. Some viewers also criticized the clothes on the show for appearing too new. Payne clapped back on this criticism, pointing out, "Sometimes clothes are new." But he and McKay are confident that naysayers will put their grievances to the side by the time Season 1 is over. The duo explained that the show gets better with each episode and that events in later episodes will make audiences see earlier episodes in a more positive light.
Thankfully, viewers who have enjoyed The Rings of Power can count on an apparently up-sized Season 2 on the horizon. McKay stated that the next season, which started filming on Oct. 3 right outside of London, will be "bigger and better" on "every level... by an order of magnitude."
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video. The season finale premieres on Oct. 14, 2022.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter