A new piece of official artwork fromThe Lord of the Ringshas inspired an intense reaction from one diehard fan. However, unlike what one’s gut reaction might assume based on that sentence, this is a heartwarming story. It’s also another entry in the always massive pile of reasons why representation matters.
The Lord of the Ringsis no stranger to self-proclaimed fans bashing any attempt at greater inclusivity. Many actors from the franchise’s Prime Video prequel seriesThe Rings of Powerhave to deal with racist backlashsimply for existing in the show. But now, it seems that many involved with J.R.R. Tolkien’s legacy have decided to join their performing peers in fighting back against the hate. Based on reactions, it seems to be going well.
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TikTok user andThe Lord of the RingssuperfanThe Ebony Warriorrecently uploaded a video of himself reacting to a newLord of the Ringstie-in card from the massively popular Wizards of the Coast tabletop gameMagic: The Gathering. The card depicts Aragorn and Arwen, two well-known characters fromThe Lord of the Rings. But whereas the Peter Jackson-directed film trilogy and most other interpretations have tended to show Aragorn as a white man (played in the films by Viggo Mortensen), this new official artwork has unambiguously drawn as a Black man, and The Ebony Warrior’s reaction to this is heartwarming.
“Promised I wouldn’t break down today,” he starts, with a smile, astheLord of the Ringsartis prominently featured in the background. “We’ve seen Baranor in theShadow of Warvideo games, but he was a made-up character forThe Lord of the Rings.” He then breaks that promise as he gushes about what makes this new official artwork meaningful. “I’ve never seen myself represented inThe Lord of the Ringsbefore. This is awesome because I’ve never seen myself as one of the main characters before, like actually seen myself represented in some form of officialLord of the Ringsmedia.”
As if to further drive home that LOTR belongs to everyone, as evenLord of the Ringsmovie actors said in the face of racist backlash, The Ebony Warrior continues. “Representation matters.Lord of the Ringshas been my favorite for the longest. I don’t think they understand how important this is to me. How much this means to me, to be able to see myself as Aragorn.” He then injects a little levity into the powerful moment as he finishes with a big sigh and says, “well, I lost that bet.”
It goes a long way in proving thatrepresentation truly does matter. Even one user who allegedly worked on this particular card set commented, “This video brings me so much joy. (Also it’s being tossed around the office.)” Others responded with “You bow to no one,” referencing one of Aragorn’s most powerful lines fromThe Return of the King. Responses like this one from The Ebony Warrior and the comments prove that everyone deserves to see themselves in the media they love, includingLord of the Rings. Everybody deserves to be this happy.
