The Lord Of the Rings: The Rings Of Power Season 2: What We Know About The Next Installment Of The Fantasy Series

Galadriel in The Rings of Power's finale
(Image credit: Amazon)

When it comes to some of the best fantasy shows of the last few years, a few instantly pop up, from House of the Dragon, receiving a Season 2 in 2024, to The Witcher on Netflix (despite its re-cast of Geralt). However, one that became quite big in 2022 was The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Amazon, and wouldn’t you know, it received a Season 2. 

However, with such an epic and long tale that is The Lord of the Rings franchise, there is so much more story to tell, and for fans of the show, they might be wondering when we get to see that story again. Here are some quick things that we know about The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2, and what you can expect when this show comes around again on our screens.  

What Is The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power Season 2 Premiere Date?

Morfydd Clark holding a weapon in front of an ornate backdrop in The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power.

(Image credit: Prime Video)

At the time of updating this in February 2024, there is no set release date for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, but it may come out in 2024. 

This comes from an interview with Vernon Sanders with Collider in December 2022, where he was hoping that a 2023 release would be nice, but it would be more likely for a 2024 release as the show would most likely take a “smidge longer” than usual to produce Season 2:

It would be amazing if we could get Season 2 out within a year of Season 1’s release. It may take a smidge longer than that, but we're doing everything we can, and we're going to get better and faster as we go. Certainly, the production, what we've learned in Season 1, has taught us things that we're applying in Season 2, and so far we set a goal for ourselves of when we want that show to be released, and we are on track and on plan.

With that in mind, hopefully we’ll seeg The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on our 2024 TV premiere schedule, if all goes well. 

Most Of The Main Cast Is Expected To Be Back

Gladriel covered in ash in Rings of Power.

(Image credit: Ben Rothstein/Prime Video)

While nothing has been confirmed, as we haven’t gotten a trailer yet, we can at least expect that most of the main cast will be back for Season 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. For those who need a refresher, here are some names that you should be familiar with: 

Morfydd Clark as Galadriel

Morfydd Clark plays Galadriel, a known character from The Lord of the Rings franchise and the main Elven warrior that we follow in the new series. Clark has appeared in the great A24 horror film, Saint Maud, as well as several other films. 

Lenny Henry as Sadoc Burrows

Lenny Henry plays Sadow Burrows, a Harfoot elder and another one of the main characters that we follow in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Henry hosted the Lenny Henry Show in the 80s, and appeared on shows like Chef! and The Magicians. 

Sara Zwangobani as Marigold Brandyfoot

Sara Zwangobani plays Marigold Brandyfoot, and she has appeared in All Saints, Disgrace, Doctor Doctor and more. 

Dylan Smith as Largo Brandyfoot

Dylan Smith plays Largo Brandyfoot, and the actor has appeared in I Am The Night, Maze Runner: The Death Cure and various other projects. 

Markella Kavenagh as Elanor "Nori" Brandyfoot

Markella Kavenagh plays Elanor “Nori” Brandyfoot, and is a younger actress who came to fame from her role in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. 

Megan Richards as Poppy Proudfellow

Megan Richards plays Poppy Proudfellow, an actress that has appeard in  shows such as Wanderlust, Doctors and more. 

Benjamin Walker as Gil-galad

Benjamin Walker plays Gil-galad, the High King of the Elves, and the actor has appeared in movies like Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, In the Heart of the Sea and more. 

This isn’t even the entire cast, so be sure to check out our The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power cast list to see who else appeared in the first season.  

However, Adar Has Been Recast With Sam Hazeldine

Sam Hazeldine will be replacing Joseph Mawle in Rings of Power.

(Image credit: Amazon Prime/Netflix)

For fans who have seen the whole show, you might remember one of the main antagonists, the Orc leader, Adar. But, the news is that he’s going to look a little different when Season 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power comes around. 

According to a press release from Amazon, it’s been confirmed that Sam Hazeldine is set to take on the role of Adar, replacing Joseph Mawle. 

This isn’t that much of a surprise. According to Deadline, Mawle hadn’t taken part in any of the worldwide promotion events when the first season was airing, and the decision was made months ago to recast the character. 

Hazeldine has done plenty in the industry, including having roles in shows like Peaky Blinders and Slow Horses, and was even in The Sandman, another fantasy series. He was even in the Ridley Scott movie, The Last Duel, so he has plenty of work to back his talent. I, for one, can’t wait to see what he does with this role.

Several New Cast Members Have Signed On

Bridie Sisson in The Rings of Power

(Image credit: Amazon)

Also announced in that press release is that several new actors have been added to The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, further expanding the world of J.R.R. Tolkien. While we’re not sure who the characters are going to be, we do know who the actors are: Yasen ‘Zates’ Atour, Ben Daniels, Gabriel Akuwudike, Amelia Kenworthy, Nia Towle, and Nicholas Woodeson

Variety reported in March 2023 that Ciarán Hinds, Rory Kinnear and Tanya Moodie signed onto the show in recurring roles with unknown characters so far. 

Also, Collider reported that Oliver Alvin-Wilson, Stuart Bowman, Gavi Singh Chera, William Chubb, Kevin Eldon, Will Keen, Selina Lo and Calam Lynch also signed on for Season 2 in December 2022. Their characters are currently unknown as well. 

Season 2 Will Explore Sauron’s Backstory

Charlie Vickers as Halbrand in The Rings of Power

(Image credit: Amazon)

You’re not a Lord of the Rings fan if you don’t know who Sauron is, and in Season 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, it looks like we’re going to be getting a little bit of backstory on this crazy antagonist. 

In an interview that was done with Empire, the main cast answered some burning questions about the show and teased a little bit of what’s to come in the second season. Charlie Vickers, who plays Sauron in the show, said that part of what he’s shot is reminiscent of Galadriel at the very beginning of Season 1, and will reveal a bit of Sauron’s backstory:

You know how we see Galadriel at the start of Season 1? Part of the sequence that I've shot is the early story of Sauron in the next season, and that's the shot, but I'm not gonna go into specifics.

For those who don’t recall, at the very beginning of Season 1, Galadriel was searching for Sauron in remembrance of her brother who had died fighting the villain, and discovered Sauron’s mark on an abandoned fortress, which starts off this whole entire series, so I’m really excited to see what will come next. 

This was even further discussed by an interview that the showrunners, J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, did with The Hollywood Reporter in October 2022. They stated that Season 2 would dig deeper into who Sauron is, and that he would almost be like an anti-hero, such as Walter White from Breaking Bad, going on to add…

He’s evil, but complexly evil. We felt like if we did that in season one, he’d overshadow everything else. So the first season is like Batman Begins, and the The Dark Knight is the next movie, with Sauron maneuvering out in the open. We’re really excited. Season two has a canonical story. There may well be viewers who are like, ‘This is the story we were hoping to get in season one!’ In season two, we’re giving it to them.

We do know that Season 2 of the series is going to have a “bigger scope,” at least according to an interview that Vernon Sanders, the Head of Global TV for Amazon Studios, did with Deadline in December 2022: 

We've never done anything like this. So the whole production model, how to produce a show like this, the scale work, all that were things that we needed to learn for the first time in the process of making the show. We are going to be faster. We are going to be able to put more money on screen, just in terms of the scale and scope of what we're doing now that we know how to do it. And I also think the pace of our story is going to increase in part because the story is demanding that now that everyone's been established, the stakes are established, that we're going to watch some characters in some lands go to war.

From this bigger scope, maybe that means we’ll get even more backstory on Sauron – and soon, we’ll learn even more. 

Season 2 Will Be “Edgier”

The Dweller capturing The Strange

(Image credit: Amazon)

While Season 1 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power really began a new story and started to develop a lot of world building, Season 2 is taking a dive into the darker side. Charlotte Brändström, a director for the series who has worked on several episodes in Season 2,spoke with MovieZine about the upcoming second season, and how it’s going to be “edgier and more character-driven” than the first season:

What I know and what I can say for a fact is that it's going to be darker, and it's going to be edgier and more character driven. I still think that we have some very interesting episodes coming up. I watched all of them over Christmas, just the cuts. I think it's going to be a very good season. We tried to make it more gritty, a little bit more dirty I guess. And not in the image, but to make it as authentic as possible. We have some very surprising twists and turns in it as well.

Sign me up, I’m so excited. 

J.D. Payne And Patrick McKay Will Continue To Act As Showrunners

Daniel Weyman as The Stranger in The Rings of Power

(Image credit: Amazon)

Unsurprisingly, it’s been confirmed that both J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay are returning as co-showrunners for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power with the press release. The two brought the story to life for the first season and now, they are back to do it a second time. 

Filming Ended During The Writer’s Strike

Morfydd Clark as Galadriel holding up two swords to two different men.

(Image credit: Photo Courtesy of Prime Video)

Originally, when we first wrote this guide back in 2022,  it was confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter, that Season 2 had started filming in the United Kingdom, right before the first season’s ending aired. 

However, finishing out the season became a little tougher for the production when the 2023 Writer’s Strike began. Variety reported in May 2023, when the strike started, that the show would finish filming amidst the strike, just without the American showrunners present. 

Normally, this would be a cause for alarm, but Variety also reported that the fantasy show had a mere nineteen days left of shooting, so they decided to keep going and finish it out with the non-writing executive producers overseeing the last of production. 

And when the SAG-AFTRA strike began, Variety confirmed in July 2023 that the show had finished filming a “few weeks back,” most likely in June, so filming is all done. 

There Have Been “Conversations” About Season 3

Nori in the finale of The Rings of Power

(Image credit: Amazon)

What’s even crazier is that a Season 3 for the show has already been discussed without confirmation of it yet. Sanders spoke about it in that same interview from Collider regarding the possible release date in December 2022:

There have been some conversations about Season 3, and we are making some investments to make sure that we are ready for Season 3. We are committed to (John D. Payne) and Patrick (McKay’s) vision for this, and I’m confident that we’ll be making many more seasons to come, but we’ll announce Season 3 when we’re ready, even as we continue to put stakes in the ground for that.

This means that while we wait for Season 2, there’s at least hope that Season 3 could actually happen and then we’ll have even more Rings of Power to binge.

What are you the most excited about when it comes to The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2? It’ll be some time before we even get to see it, but hopefully we’ll get more news before too much longer.  

Alexandra Ramos
Content Producer

A self-proclaimed nerd and lover of Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire, Alexandra Ramos is a Content Producer at CinemaBlend. She first started off working in December 2020 as a Freelance Writer after graduating from the Pennsylvania State University with a degree in Journalism and a minor in English. She primarily works in features for movies, TV, and sometimes video games. (Please don't debate her on The Last of Us 2, it was amazing!) She is also the main person who runs both our daily newsletter, The CinemaBlend Daily, and our ReelBlend newsletter.