Vince Gilligan has closed the book on the Mike Ehrmantraut character played by Jonathan Banks with Better Call Saul, but Mike is somehow finding himself back on the silver screen—and in the fantasy genre no less.
As revealed by Empire, a new troll character by the name of Damrod the Hill-troll is said to be inspired by Saul Goodman’s occasional private investigator. Showrunner Patrick McKay shares, “[He] was inspired in part by Mike Ehrmantraut in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul… if you look at the way he moves and his casual sense of strength.”
Not much is known about Damrod yet, but his first image has him facing the “Father of Orcs” Adar (now played by Samuel Hazeldine):
Meet #TheRingsOfPower Season 2's new Hill-troll, Damrod.
“[He] was inspired in part by Mike Ehrmantraut in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul,” showrunner Patrick McKay tells Empire.
READ MORE: https://t.co/A4PGjKggeS pic.twitter.com/TEMjyVJInD
— Empire Magazine (@empiremagazine) July 1, 2024
Damrod is also described as an ‘eater of dragon bones’ and ‘ready to deal out serious damage with its significant stature and grouchy demeanor.’ With the first season of Rings of Power giving spotlight to the orcs in Adar’s army, it’s going to be interesting to see how more creatures come to the service of Sauron. Can we even expect these earlier trolls to be smarter than the ones we meet in Lord of the Rings?
Going back to Mike though, it’s funny that he should be the inspiration for a troll character. At this point, it was kind of expected. The show would make fun of Mike occasionally (like calling him ‘Uncle Fester’), but there was one scene in Better Call Saul when Jimmy literally calls Mike a ‘troll under the bridge’. It was only a matter of time.
Catch the second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power when it premieres on Amazon Prime Video on Aug. 29.
