The power of two of Middle-earth’s mightiest Elves coming together.
In 2001, Orlando Bloom, 45, made his first appearance as the swashbuckling Legolas in Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, winning audiences over with his archery skills and adorable friendship with Dwarf Gimli.
Over two decades later, Ismael Cruz Córdova, 35, has arrived on the scene in the LOTR prequel series The Rings of Power, playing a Silvan Elf named Arondir and quickly cementing himself as a fan-favourite.
Ever since Rings of Power was released, the original cast of the LOTR prequel have been vocal in their support of the new actors, particularly when speaking out against the racism some of the stars have experienced from trolls.
In a new post shared on Instagram, Orlando threw his arm around Ismael as they both posed for the camera, while also sharing a heartfelt message in Elvish.
Both of the actors were dressed in black for the snap, with Ismael wearing a satin blazer and sparkling necklace while Orlando beamed in a simple black T-shirt.
‘Mellon,’ the Pirates of the Caribbean star wrote in the caption, which means ‘friend’ in the Elvish language.
‘Big love mellon,’ Ismael responded in the comment section, while also sharing the same picture and caption on Twitter.
Several LOTR fans celebrated the two actors uniting, with one exclaiming in the Instagram comment section: ‘Arondir and Legolas! The dream team of the Silvan Elves.’
‘They’re taking the hobbits to Isengard!!!!’ someone else wrote, referencing Legolas’ meme-making line from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
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Another fan expressed the high regard in which they held both stars, commenting: ‘Now that’s what I call a royal meeting!’
‘The crossover I didn’t know I needed!’ someone else remarked.
Following the LOTR trilogy, which ended with Return of the King in 2003, Orlando reprised his role as Legolas in the second and third films in The Hobbit trilogy, which came out in 2013 and 2014 respectively.
For fans wondering whether Legolas could appear in Rings of Power, considering the fact that Elves are regarded as near-immortal in JRR Tolkien’s, it doesn’t seem likely that he will show up.
While Rings of Power takes place in the Second Age of Middle-earth, Legolas is said to have been born in the Third Age – so unless they changed up the chronology, people will just have to go back to the film franchises to witness Orlando in action.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is available to stream on Prime Video.
