Lord of the Rings star Orlando Bloom opens up about why he is excited for more of Prime Video’s The Rings of Power and his love for season 1.
As production continues on the next chapter, Orlando Bloom is looking back on his love for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and his excitement for the show’s future. Bloom previously starred in Peter Jackson’s adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels as Legolas, a Sindar Elf who joins up with the Fellowship of the Ring in order to destroy the One Ring that could lead to Sauron further rising to power over Middle-earth. The former Pirates of the Caribbean star would briefly return for Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy, the last big-screen Tolkien adaptation before Prime Video got to work on the prequel series, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
In a recent interview with RadioTimes.com to discuss Carnival Row season 2, Orlando Bloom looked to both the past and the future to discuss The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. In addition to praising season 1 for its “courageous” approach to adapting the material, the former Legolas star shared his excitement for the show’s future, namely for his desire to see more of Tolkien’s source material brought to life. See what Bloom said below:
I had missed Tolkien. I had missed Tolkien’s mind, and I’d missed his world, and I’d missed his vision – and I think they just stepped back into Tolkien’s world. I thought it was really courageous. It’s not an easy thing to take on another version of something that had such a remarkable run of its own, but I thought it was really admirable; the casting, the story and the way they approached the world… I’m looking forward to more of it.
Everything We Know About LOTR: The Rings of Power’s Future
Set thousands of years before both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Prime Video series memorably saw season 1 end with the reveal that Charlie Vickers’ Halbrand was secretly Sauron in disguise, quietly manipulating the people of Númenor, as well as Morfydd Clark’s Galadriel. Vickers has since teased a number of plans for Sauron heading into The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2, namely that it will see the villain in his “repentance stage” leading into more of Middle-Earth’s Second Age. The star has also confirmed that season 2 will further explore Adar’s relationship with Sauron, a dynamic teased throughout season 1 while Sauron’s true identity was kept a secret.
Showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay have also assured that they are listening to The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power fans’ responses to season 1 going into the show’s future, refining the scripts for the latter end of season 2 based on such. McKay also indicated that rather than going with a complete “course correction,” the duo and their team will be looking to build on the strengths of season 1. Amazon TV head Vernon Sanders has also assured that season 2 will feature a much faster pace than season 1, an element criticized by viewers, and will also feature a lot more battles.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 kicked off filming back in October, now in the show’s new filming home of the United Kingdom. With season 1 having taken over a year to finish filming, it seems likely that season 2 won’t wrap until sometime later this year, in line with the planned 2024 return. Additionally, with the show already picked up for five seasons, Bloom and others are sure to hope turnaround on future seasons is quicker.
