On Friday at Comic-Con International in San Diego, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power conquered Hall H for a discussion with showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay, executive producer Lindsey Weber, and many of the stars from the Middle-earth epic's sprawling cast. Morfydd Clark, Charles Edwards, Rob Aramayo, Benjamin Walker, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Charlie Vickers, Nazanin Boniadi, Tyroe Muhafidin, Daniel Weyman, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Trystan Gravelle, Maxim Baldry, Ema Horvath, Lloyd Owen, Leon Wadham, Markella Kavenagh, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Sara Zwangobani, Sophia Nomvete, and Owain Arthur participated in the panel.

The panel began with a video presentation from Amazon Prime Video, promosting the various exclusive shows now streaming on the platform with the final clip being new footage from The Rings of Power.

Composer Bear McCreary then came onstage, along with the full orchestra and choir for the show's musical score. With one violion soloist in the spotlight, McCreary led a stunning live performance of one of the sweeping, epic pieces to be heard in the upcoming series.

The next surprise was the appearance of comedian and actor Stephen Colbert on the stage. "My introduction to Tolkien was when I read The Lord of the Rings at twelve years old, and I was instantly absorbed in this world," said Colbert. He claims to have read the book trilogy over fifty times since then.

"One of the places where the information is the thinnest is the Second Age," Colbert explained about Tolkien's extensive work on his creation of Middle-earth. He asked the audience who had read the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, remarking that some people would lie about it.

"I'm looking forward to all of the possibilities," said Colbert. "I want to see Moria before the fall!"

Colbert said that he had spoken to the showrunners and was struck by their sincerity and devotion to the source material. "I'll ask them some hard-hitting questions like, 'Why do some Elves have haircuts?' and 'Where is the salon?'

Footing from The Rings of Power was played on multiple screens, wrapping around Hall H.

Payne, McKay and Weber then came on the stage to join Colbert. "Welcome to Hall H," said Colbert. "Have you ever been here before?" The showrunners admitted that they hadn't, saying, "We were never able to get in before. Definitely not on stage! We're scared shitless."

Payne recited an entire monologue in apparently flawless Elvish, then asked, "What was the question again?"

Weber talked about discovering the books as a child and "never stopped reading them. They've always been there for me."

McKay said that what made The Lord of the Rings special was that it wasn't saccharine but very real, born of pain, but still shows that there can be hope.

When asked "What kind of story are you telling us?" Payne responded, "Imagine everything is taken away from you. How far would you go to protect the things you love the most?"

McKay: "After a defeat and a respite, the Shadow grows again in a new form. And that's what this story is about."

Payne: "It's the rise and the fall of Sauron. That story struck us as one that could match up to the grandeur we can give it."

"We wanted to find a huge Tolkienien multi-epic," said McKay. "And Amazon was crazy enough to say yes."

"No BS, they have let us make the show we wanted to make," added Payne.

Colbert asked the two about their favorite moments from the original texts. McKay mentioned the moment that the Elves "realize they've been had" by Sauron, while Payne talked about the downfall of Numenor.

Weber said, "The real challenge in creating the series is keeping up with the imagination of JRR Tolkien and [Payne] and [McKay]." She said that she joined the project in 2018, and that everyone was very emotional about finally getting to the point where we are now.

Colbert asked what Middle-earth race each would be. "I'd be a Numenorean," said Weber.

"We love Elves but we really love Dwarves, also," said McKay, and Payne agreed.

"I would be a Hobbit, thanks for asking," said Colbert. Payne replied, "I would have but I didn't want to cut you short."

McKay noted, "The fans have been disappointed many times over, and we didn't want to disappoint you guys. It's nice to finally be here celebrating with you."

Colbert asked about the new characters who would be appearing in the show who weren't mentioned in Tolkien's work. "We had the privilege of working with Tolkien scholars," said Payne. "Tolkien gave us all these amazing clues about cultures in the Second Age." He mentioned the various kinds of hobbits that Tolkien described and how they pieced these notes together. "One, always back to Tolkien, and two, we tried to invent in as Tolkien a way as possible."

The official trailer for The Rings of Power was then played on the main screen.

The first question Colbert asked about the trailer was concerning the Balrog which appeared at the end. "The Second Age is so enormously vast that anything could happen," said McKay. "Balrogs are sneaky," Colbert agreed.

"We built as much as anyone humanly could," said Weber, crediting several names from the crew. "Of course our visual effects team helped to fill in the rest."

"What were the auditions like and why did you never call me?" asked Colbert.

"We looked at thousands of people," said Weber.

"It was the Age of the Casting Process," said Payne. "We had two criteria: they had to be an excellent peformer, because we knew it was going to be a fifty-hour story. Two, we had to look in their eyes and see that they had Middle-earth in them."

As promised, Colbert asked about the Elves' hair, and McKay replied by saying Tolkien implied that Elves had different looks.

About the hobbits, Payne said, "It's not a hobbit story, it's a Harfoot story. We thought we had license there to tell a good Harfoot story."

McKay emphasized that this was a story about the underdogs, the little people.

Colbert also asked about female Dwarves having beards, which has been a major point of debate among fans. "I can confirm they have facial hair," said Weber. "I can't wait for you to see more of it, you see more of it in the show."

McCreary was called up to the stage to speak about his use of music for the show. He mentioned respecting the legacy of original Lord of the Rings composer, Howard Shore, but also adding something new to the score.

"As a producer, those movies set such a high bar," said Weber. "We hope to carry on that tradition."

McKay, Payne, Weber and McCreary then left the stage to allow the cast to come up. In the meantime, Colbert talked to the audience about the pronunciation of "Tolkien" and several of the names from his works. "There endeth the lesson, children!" he quipped when correcting some pronunciations.

Five actors, playing Elrond, Gil-galad, Celebrimbor, Durin and Disa, came on stage. Charles Edwards, playing Celebrimbor, took the first question about the impact that his character's actions have on the future of Middle-earth. "He's trying to recreate Valinor in Middle-earth," said Edwards. "Tolkien said, 'They did not have peace in their hearts,' and Celebrimbor is an example of that."

"Let's talk about Elrond," Colbert said next. "Who is Elrond to you?"

"An orphan," said Robert Aramayo, who plays the character. "I wanted to pour all of my efforts into discovering who he was, where he came from, his parents, and the weight of that... When I started researching the character, the more I read the more I realized how much you can connect in some way to Elrond. There's a lot of pressure for him."

Owain Arthur, who plays Prince Durin, talked about being Welsh and how that compared to playing a Dwarf. "My family worked in a slate quarry in North Wales. We have our own language. So there are connections to my growing up and to Moria." He discussed his excitement the first time he put on the Dwarf makeup as well as his relief the first time it came off.

Colbert then played a clip from the show about Durin, footage that clearly shows the society of the Dwarves and their animosity toward the Elves. Durin addresses his people, who cheer him on as he challenges a young Elrond to a competition smashing rocks. The clip cuts out just as Elrond swings his pick, so it's unknown who wins.

Gil-galad's actor Benjamin Walker discussed taking the role after having a conversation with Payne while the latter was at the hospital just after his son was born.

Sophia Nomvete, who plays the Dwarf Princess Disa, was proud to note that she's the first female Dwarf that audiences have seen on screen. "I auditioned for this role when I was two days away from giving birth." Her daughter was five days old when she learned that she had won the role. Nomvete pointed out a feature of her costume shown in the movie poster which allowed her to breastfeed her baby between takes.

The next five actors to come up were those playing Arondir, Bronwyn, Theo, Nori, Poppy, Largo, Marigold and The Stranger.

Dylan Smith and Sara Zwangobani are both playing Harfoots, an ancestor of hobbits. Zwangobani explained, "They're a migratory tribe who have been through a lot. They hide a lot, but they still have all the joy and love of life and family that you see later. Marigold just wants to preserve that way of life."

Megan Richards, who plays Poppy, talked about being given a musical role in the show: "We did a lot of karaoke. JA puts on 'Suddenly Seymour' and just hands me the second mike without saying anything. There's a video somewhere. Next day I get a call from Patrick and he says, 'Do you want to sing in the show?'"

Another clip was revealed, showing Poppy and Nori discovering a "giant" in a flaming crater.

"All I could do was play the moment," said Daniel Weyman, who plays an especially mysterious character known only as The Stranger.

"I play the mother of a very rebellious teenage son in a forbidden romance with an Elf," said Bronwyn actor Nazanin Boniadi.

Tyroe Muhafidin, who plays Theo, described being cast as the "rebellious son" in question. "One day my agent told me, 'You've got an audition for an untitled Amazon project,' and then in parentheses, 'The Lord of the Rings.' Being shortlisted was a massive achievement on its own, and then all of a sudden I'm on set in New Zealand surrounded by people doing I don't even know what, but something really important!"

Colbert pointed out that Ismael Cruz Cordova, who plays Arondir, has a very fluid fighting style and asked if it came from a history in dancing. "I have a background in movement, and I'm Puerto Rican, so I can move," he said.

The next clip revealed featured Arondir in action, fighting against Orcs who had imprisoned him and other Elves and Men.

The final group of actors brought on stage were those playing Galadriel, Halbrand, Miriel, Pharazon, Elendil, Earien, Isildur and Kemen. Lloyd Owen, who plays Elendil, talked about his experience with Tolkien, saying he had read it to his son and had to remember the voices he was using for each character.

Galadriel actor Morfydd Clark discussed the pronunciation of Welsh, as in her first name. "I grew up reading the books, I was eleven when the films came out. These books and films have been part of my family's life, and now it's my job, so it's amazing... I did a lot of training, most of it with Charlie [Vickers, who plays Halbrand]."

A clip was shared featuring Galadriel and Elrond. The characters speak in Elvish before their lines in English. In a golden wood, Elrond praises Galadriel for her achievements in war and ruling.

Clark noted that Tolkien's Elvish language is based on Welsh, so she felt lucky to have skills speaking it.

Vickers talked about the cast's time on horseback, saying, "My horse's name is Cricket, but Morfydd's horse was called Titan, and he was unbelievably stunning."

Another clip featuring Galadriel included Halbrand as well and was set at sea, on a ship headed to Numenor, which is laid out in epic panoramic shots.

The full cast and the showrunners then returned to stage for an audience Q&A. "Let's keep this in the spirit of JRR Tolkien, shall we?" said Colbert, then turned to the cast and said, "God, you're all so beautiful."

The first question was about the biggest changes from the movies to the new show. "Well, the show takes place four thousand years earlier, so there's a lot of change," said Payne. McKay added, "In some ways it's meeting a very different Middle-earth."

Clark answered a question about her character saying, "I wanted to show how the serenity of Galadriel in the films comes hard fought."

One fan asked about the mythical creatures that might appear. "I think we're gonna give you such a large amount of creative information that hopefully we're going to make everyone very happy."

The next question brought up a controversy about Galadriel's costume, saying she was wearing an emblem from the wrong house, which Colbert countered with his own knowledge of The Silmarillion.

"Something I don't think the internet has considered yet is that it's not actually her armor," said Weber. "It's a gift."

The final question earned a great deal of audience applause: "Will you commit right now to giving Mr. Colbert a role?"

"The answer's yes," said Payne. He handed a pad to Colbert and had him sign it, then held it up for the audience to see the evidence.