Even though Amazon Studios owns the global TV rights for “The Lord of the Rings“, including a 5-season agreement and allowing for potential spin-offs, formally, every new season of “The Lord of the Rings” series has to be officially ordered by Amazon. This happened very early for the “The Rings of Power” second season. This might have been released as early as 2022 had it not been for a pandemic that has paralyzed large parts of Hollywood. Therefore, the series’ first season has been postponed to September 2, 2022. Accordingly, there is the second season, which many fans probably hoped to see next year. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be the case after all. Everything takes longer.
Shooting for “The Lord of the Rings” Season 2 is no longer in New Zealand
Especially for film series fans, New Zealand has become inextricably linked with “The Lord of the Rings” and Amazon also shot the first series season there. Nevertheless, the studio has decided to move further filming on upcoming seasons to the UK. Two reasons were cited as being instrumental in this decision. On the one hand, the cost of production can be reduced, even if all the equipment must now be transported. On the other hand, the entry restrictions on the part of New Zealand because of Corona are no longer such a hurdle and agonizing factor in the production for the largely English cast. Recently, however, it has been said that some scenes will also be shot in Auckland.
The Rings of Power Season 2: Script ready and shooting started on October
Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, has confirmed to the magazine that the writers* have started to outline the second season early. In conjunction with the early renewal (well ahead of the planned 2021 series start), “The Lord of the Rings” series has been put on a shooting hiatus of four to five months. During this time, the writing team, led by showrunners and executive producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, was supposed to come together to use the free time to complete large portions of the scripts for Season 2 of the series.
Meanwhile, filming officially began in London on October 3, 2022. Whether the first season’s cast will be back in its entirety remains to be seen, but certain elves and other characters will stay with us in the next episodes. If you want to know what might happen in the next seasons up to the possible fifth, we recommend this great preview:
“The Rings of Power”: Far-reaching change in the cast and more new actors
In the next season, we will have to get used to a new actor, and that could be difficult because the previous embodiment of the orc leader Adar went to the heart and was one of the most convincing aspects of the series. However, Joseph Mawle is leaving the production without an official reason, and Sam Hazeldine will take over his role next season. In addition, other new members have been announced for the cast, but their roles are still unknown:
- Yasen Atour
- Nia Towle
- Amalia Kenworthy
- Ben Daniels
- Nicholas Woodeson
- Gabriel Akuwudike
Yahoo! news, reported one new cast for the part of the oldest and wisest Elves: Círdan. At the time of the story in “The Rings of Power,” he is the oldest known Elf in Middle Earth and has lived so long that he has a beard. He is given one of the first three rings, whose creation we witness in the first season. Which actor will take over his character is still unknown.
When will the second season of “The Rings of Power” start on Amazon?
Amazon has not yet announced an exact start date for the second season. However, an interview with Hollywood Reporter reveals that showrunner J.D. Payne plans several years for the second season. Since the preliminary work had already begun and the shooting started in October, he hopefully means a season start in 2024 at the latest. But if there are still delays due to the crisis, pessimists could not exclude even 2025. However, the hope that we can expect eight new episodes a year from now on has been dashed for the time being. 2024 will be a wonderful Middle Earth year because that’s when the new Lord of the Rings movie is scheduled to hit theaters.
Showrunners tell what happens next – spoilers on Season 1
The Hollywood Reporter has conducted an intensive feature interview with “The Rings of Power” showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne. From this, much interesting information emerges about the creation and decision-making processes within the series production. For example, they explain why the second season will be much darker.
The Shadow of Evil – Sauron Revealed
It’s obvious, of course: Sauron is now revealed, looking down on the glowing Mount Doom, the new Southlands called Mordor. Payne and McKay wanted to spread the shadow of evil in the first season slowly. They said their main goal in the first season was to bring us back to Middle Earth and rekindle our love for its inhabitants. We should remember their ways of life, tasks, and struggles. And in doing so, we should feel the shadow of evil. A shadow that does not reveal itself to us and poisons interpersonal relationships with distrust, even among friends like Sam and Frodo. That we spend the entire season puzzling over where Sauron is hiding, who he is, and what he calls himself was intentional and filled the creators with great joy when it also happened that way. We were to become part of the scenario, involved in the events, and affected by the distrust that the search for evil brings. The second season will now move forward with Sauron unmasked, and, accordingly, the characters we have now come to know – and perhaps love – will come under severe distress and be put to the test in the worst possible way.
The Stranger: Is his identity as clear as everyone thinks?
The two showrunners also spoke with NY Times and even more in-depth about the Sauron reveal and their decision to give him the name Halbrand. They also talk about the character of the Stranger (Daniel Weyman), who also gets a closer definition of his existence in the last episode. Even twice. After realizing that he is not Sauron, but an Istari, respectively a wizard, he leaves the other Harfeet with Nori. He then says a sentence to her that Gandalf already noted in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, which for many is considered the ultimate indication that we are dealing with Gandalf here. But it is not quite certain because McKay is not ready to confirm this fan theory. Rather, he reports that in the case of the Stranger’s character, what mattered to her was not so much who he was but that he snatched Nori from her normal life. The Stranger must find himself in the series, and what their name is like is also among the things he will discover on his journey. Still, the theory is obvious and forced intrusively with the Gandalf quote.
More unanswered questions after the finale of the first season
Much has been clarified, but some things remain unanswered.
What about Adar?
Adar may have acted of his own accord but ultimately fulfilled Sauron’s plan. Whether he can share a comfortable home with his orcs for long remains to be seen. Adar has claimed to have killed Sauron. So it will be exciting to see how the two can agree when they confront each other again.
When will Celeborn appear?
Some rumored that the series broke canon and had Celeborn, Galadriel’s husband, die. Payne acknowledges that with a laugh, pointing out that Galadriel only says she never saw him again. Whether he’ll be allowed back into her life as early as Season 2 is left open by the two showrunners, who point to the happy fact that Círdan will be with them next season. One new Elbe per season is enough? We’ll see because Middle Earth is big, Elves are immortal, and Amazon wants to produce five seasons.
