‘It’s Gonna Be Awesome’: The Rings of Power Will Get a Third Season, Showrunners Confirm
It’s official. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will be back for a third season on Prime Video. Per Screen Rant, series showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne confirmed that the Second Age of Middle-earth show will return for a third season.
“We’re working on it,” Payne said. “We’re working now!” added McKay. “We’re prepping now, very, very intensely. Um-,” said Payne. But the exchange between the two showrunners pretty much ended there. “That’s all we can say,” McKay said. Payne did add that, “We do (have some exciting stuff coming). It’s gonna be really good. We’re excited.” McKay stressed, “It’s gonna be awesome.”
Long-term plans for The Rings of Power have always had the series going for five seasons, so the streaming moving forward with Season 3 makes that idea closer to reality. Season 2 premiered this past summer, with viewership slightly behind Season 1, although critical acclaim was better for Season 2.
Amazon Head Says The Studio Isn’t Deviating from the 50-episode Plan
In a previous interview, Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon MGM Studios stated to Variety that she felt “really good” about the series, which ended its second season run on Oct. 3. Salke added that over 55 million people have “engaged” with the show since the beginning of Season 2, which premiered Aug. 29.
In that same interview, Salke also reiterated that there had not been a change to Amazon’s 50-episode undertaking of the series that would stretch over five years. “I don’t think so. (That) commitment is never the thing that’s driving what we’re doing. We’ll continue to make the show as long as we see global customers loving and watching it to the point where – it’s business. Obviously, we need a large amount of people showing up. And there are large amount of people, so there’s no debate about whether or not the show will continue,” Salke said.
Season 3 is expected to be filmed in the U.K., which is where Season 2 was filmed. The first season of The Rings of Power was filmed in New Zealand. “No plans to move it. Very excited about it,” Salke said.
Rings of Power’s Sauron Actor Has Some Ideas for His Character
As for what to expect in Season 3, Sauron/Annatar actor Charlie Vickers has a few ideas for his character. “There’s so much I’m looking forward to, but I feel like when I watched episode seven and eight I was thinking, ‘Is this what the show is now, full throttle from here on?’ And that’s a really exciting prospect,” Vickers said.
The actor added that his character’s story is just beginning since at the end of Season 2, Sauron finally acquired the nine Rings from Galadriel. “I think task No. 1 is probably: Who am I going to give these nine Rings to, to enslave them? He’s got a big to-do list,” Vickers said about Sauron.
A release date for Season 3 was not announced, but given the timeline for Season 2, the new season could begin filming next year. That would mean that the third season could be released sometime in late 2026. But, Screen Rant stated that it could be as late as February or March of 2027 before audiences are transported back to the Second Age of Middle-earth.
