"The Rings Of Power" Season 3 Introduces the Ancestors of the Ringwraiths: the Nazgnagôl

Every kind of creature roams the dark corners of Middle-earth: cave trolls, Balrogs, Orcs. There are also Sauron's Ringwraiths, whom we saw in Peter Jackson's films — once-human beings turned into terrifying wraiths by the nine rings. Since season 3 of The Rings Of Power follows the rise of Charlie Vickers' Sauron in the Second Age, we'll also see the origins of the Nazgûl.

Or, as the show calls them: the Nazgnagôl. Here, they're still human; serving Sauron and burning with a hunger for power. Showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay dove into Tolkien linguistics to figure out what this in-between stage would be. "We love looking at the things that inspired Tolkien," says Payne. "He started with the language; the language became the scaffolding the myth was hung on. 'Nazgûl' means 'Ring-Wraith' in the Black Speech of Mordor. But we know that before they became Ringwraiths, they were simply human. So we were able to work out that in the Black Speech, 'nagôl' could mean 'servant.'"

One of these ring-servants is Zubin Varla's Khamûl the Easterling, a character we know is fated to lose his humanity. "In a way, they're on the same journey as Gollum," says Varla. "Evil begets evil, violence begets violence. Their souls and bodies decay, hollowed out until they're left almost without physical form."

Still, the Nazgnagôl doesn't see himself as the villain. "Every character remains the hero of their own story," says Payne. "From Khamûl's perspective, he's a warlord who deserves to be king, whose power was seized by a dark sorcerer. Sauron offers him a way back to the top." Remember: some 'gifts' need to be refused.

The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power season 3 premieres on Prime Video on November 11.