Sauron’s rise in Season 2 of “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” will begin August 29 when the new installment of Amazon Prime Video’s fantasy series based on J.R.R. Tolkien IP arrives on the streamer. Prime Video released a teaser trailer and behind-the-scenes featurette Monday. Based on parts of Tolkien’s posthumous “The Silmarillion,” the series has a planned arc of five seasons.
What is ‘Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” Season 2 about?
The drama series takes place thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” books with an ensemble cast of familiar faces mixed with new characters. Set in the not-for-long peaceful Second Age of Middle Earth, the show marks a first-time venture into the adaptation of Tolkein’s history of the fabled period. Villain Sauron (Charlie Vickers) will be “out and about doing his thing” in Season 2.
“We filmed the first two episodes then went on hiatus, and then with maybe two months to go of the hiatus before starting episode 3, the showrunners said ‘We want to have a meeting with you,'” Vickers told Deadline in Episode 8 of the “‘LOTR: The Rings of Power’ After Show ‘Inside the Ring'” after the finale had aired. “They took me into the set that Galadriel discovers in the first episode with the orcs through the walls and Sauron’s sigil on the forge. They took me in there and said ‘This is your world. You’re playing Sauron.'”
Watch the teaser trailer:
Who is creating ‘Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ Season 2?
Showrun and executive produced by developers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” is also executive produced by Lindsey Weber, Callum Greene, Justin Doble, Jason Cahill, and Gennifer Hutchison, along with co-executive producer and director Charlotte Brändström. Kate Hazell and Helen Shang produce too, with co-producers Clare Buxton, Andrew Lee, Glenise Mullins, and Matthew Penry-Davey. Season Two of LOTR: The Rings of Power also has enlisted Sanaa Hamri and Louise Hooper among its team of all-female directors. Charlotte Brändström, who directed episodes 6 and 7 of Season 1, will return as well.
“We weren’t trying to reproduce what had been seen in the [Peter Jackson] movies, or what was seen by some other concept artist for Tolkien’s work,” production designer Ramsey Avery said of the show in an episode of Deadline’s craft series The Process. “So, it was all coming up with fresh and new ideas that told a very specific story.”
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When will Season 2 of ‘Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ be released?
Season 2 of the fantasy show arrives on Amazon Prime Video August 29. Production on the follow-up installment continued in the UK during the writers strike in the summer of 2023. The episode release rollout hasn’t yet been outlined, but Season 1 premiered Sept. 1, 2022 with two episodes, followed by a new episode every week until October 24.
How many episodes are in ‘Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ Season 2?
Season 2 is looking to have eight episodes, just like Season 1.
How to watch ‘Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ Season 2:
Both seasons will be available exclusively via Amazon Prime Video.
Which actors will return for ‘Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ Season 2?
Alongside Charlie Vickers as Sauron, Morfydd Clark will return as Galadriel, Robert Aramayo as Elrond, Owain Arthur as Prince Durin IV, Ismael Cruz Córdova as Arondir, Ema Horvath as Eärien, Benjamin Walker as High King Gil-Galad, Peter Mullan as King Durin III, Markella Kavenagh as Nori Brandyfoot, Maxim Baldry as Isildur and Sophia Nomvete as Princess Disa to name a few.
Are there new characters in ‘Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ Season 2?
There are new characters, but also a classic character from Tolkien’s books will make his debut in the second installment of the Prime Video series. Ecclectic Tom Bombadil, who saves the hobbits early on in The Fellowship of the Ring, didn’t make it into Peter Jackson’s trilogy much to the chagrin of fans of Tolkien’s books.
Vanity Fair first unveiled the brightly clothed woodland dweller, who sings nonsensical songs, portrayed by Rory Kinnear. Tolkien described the ethereal man as “older than the old,” meaning he was around when all life began.
Fifteen actors were added in recurring roles at the end of 2022.
Sam Hazeldine takes on the role of Orc leader Adar in a recasting in the Prime Video series, replacing Joseph Mawle, who portrayed the character in Season 1. The recasting decision was made months ago, and Mawle did not participate in any of the worldwide promotional events for the series.
Additional new cast members are Gabriel Akuwudike (Hanna), Yasen ‘Zates’ Atour (The Witcher), Ben Daniels (Jupiter’s Legacy), newcomer Amelia Kenworthy, Nia Towle (Persuasion), and Nicholas Woodeson (Silent Witness). Oliver Alvin-Wilson (The Bay), Stuart Bowman (The Pact), Gavi Singh Chera (The Undeclared War), William Chubb (Vampire Academy), Kevin Eldon (Game of Thrones), Will Keen (Ridley Road), Selina Lo (Boss Level), and Calam Lynch (Bridgerton) also joined the series in December 2022.
How much does the series cost to produce?
Season 1 added up to almoat $700 million, when obtention of the rights from the J.R.R. Tolkien estate is factored in. Season 2 has been teased as much grittier and darker than Season 1.
Watch a behind-the-scenes featurette:
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