Who is Tom Bombadil? LOTR show Rings of Power reveals new character in upcoming season

New images from The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 on Amazon Prime have revealed Tom Bombadil.

Fans have been patiently waiting for news about the next season since 2022 and the ending of The Rings of Power season 1, and the wait will soon be over. The first trailer for season 2 was finally released this month, where it was revealed that Tom Bombadil will appear, played by Rory Kinnear.“There’s a reason why he hasn’t been in prior adaptations, because in some ways he’s sort of an anti-dramatic character,” show runner JD Payne told Vanity Fair. “He’s not a character who has a particularly strong agenda. He observes drama, but largely doesn’t participate in it. In The Fellowship of the Ring, the characters kind of just go there and hang out for a while, and Tom drops some knowledge on them.”

Who is Tom Bombadil?

Tom Bombadil has been quite a mysterious character so far – he was absent in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies.

But The Rings of Power will finally give fans insight into Bombadil's story.

In The Fellowship of the Ring, the first Lord of the Rings novel, Bombadil describes himself as "eldest": the first being to exist in Middle-Earth. He told the likes of Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin that he remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn.

He also says he remembers Middle-earth before Morgoth emerged, hinting he is even older than the Valar (the spirits that existed well before the First Age).

In the same novel, Bombadil has control over the Old Forest. He saves the four Hobbits from Old Man Willow and Barrow-wights, proving his spiritual strength.

The One Ring does not affect him and he can wear it without turning invisible.

Bombadil cares a lot for his own lands, his wife, and even the Hobbits. But he has never been involved in wars across Middle-earth.

It has also been revealed that Bombadil was initially known as a pilgrim, wandering various realms and countries.

The character has a love of nature and can be found living in a place called the Old Forest, located in the western parts of Middle-earth, between the Shire and Bree.

However, in The Rings of Power, Bombadil will be from a region called Rhûn, where hobbits Nori (Markella Kavenagh) and Poppy (Megan Richards) will guide the wizard, known as Stranger (Daniel Weyman).

Season two of The Rings of Power premieres on Amazon’s Prime Video on August 29.