Any J.R.R. Tolkien fan knows that sometimes, the biggest heroes come in very small packages — which is why many were particularly delighted (albeit a little surprised) to learn that everyone's favorite curly-haired halflings would play a key role in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

Amazon Prime Video's long-awaited fantasy series (debuting Sept. 2) is set during the Second Age, thousands of years before hobbits like Bilbo or Frodo were even born. Markella Kavenagh and Megan Richards star as two curious halflings who get swept up in some of Middle-earth's wildest adventures, as halflings often do. Just don't call them hobbits: Elanor "Nori" Brandyfoot (Kavenagh) and Poppy Proudfellow (Richards) are harfoots, early predecessors to the Shire-dwellers we know and love.