Everything We Know About "LOTR: The Rings of Power" Season 2

Many of your favorite actors from season one will return in season two, including Morfydd Clark as Galadriel, Charlie Vickers as Sauron, Robert Aramayo as Elrond, Markella Kavenagh as Elanor 'Nori' Brandyfoot, Ismael Cruz Córdova as Arondir, and Sophia Nomvete as Princess Disa.

On Dec. 1, 2022, Prime Video announced seven new cast members joining the second season of "Rings of Power": Sam Hazeldine, Yasen "Zates" Atour, Nia Towle, Gabriel Akuwudike, Amelia Kenworthy, Nicholas Woodeson, and Ben Daniels. Roughly a week later, the streamer then announced a second wave of newcomers joining the fantasy-adventure series: Oliver Alvin-Wilson, Stuart Bowman, Gavi Singh Chera, William Chubb, Kevin Eldon, Will Keen, Selina Lo, and Calam Lynch. Then, on March 20, 2023, Prime Video revealed its latest season two cast additions: Ciarán Hinds, Rory Kinnear, and Tanya Moodie, all of whom have unknown recurring roles.

So far, Hazeldine is the only actor whose character has been confirmed — the London native and "Peaky Blinders" actor will play the recast Adar, previously portrayed by Joseph Mawle. The rest of the cast additions' character details are still being kept under wraps.

Although no storylines have been confirmed, Prime Video shared that Círdan, a key character in Middle-earth's history, is part of the upcoming season. Showrunner Patrick McKay offered some general hints about the future direction of the series, telling Esquire, "we're going to tell the story of the forging of the rings of power, the rise the Dark Lord Sauron, the fall of Númenor, and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. Exactly when and how we're going there, and what hopefully delightful twists come along the way, will be things that people will have to wait and see."

In May, Clark told Deadline that her character Galadriel will receive one of the show's powerful rings in the next installment. "She's about to have a life-changing thing happen to her. She's about to become acquainted with Nenya, her ring. It's really exciting to see how the magic creeps in," Clark said. "When we finished Season 1, the rings were being made and we knew it was going to be a huge change for Middle Earth. [Galadriel] is going to be part of that change because she has her own ring." She also added that her character is "trying to see the light through the darkness."

Meanwhile, Mullan, who portrays King Durin III in the series, also shared that fans can expect to see more immeasurably powerful pieces of jewelry in the next installment. "There are more rings; the show is called 'The Rings of Power.' Maybe I'll be getting a new necklace, who knows?" he quipped to Deadline, noting that his character's relationship with his son is also about to become "very problematic." "My guy goes through some things that change him," he added. "So his son is reacting to a very different father; he's not the father that you see. He's someone else."

Córdova, who plays Arondir, also told Deadline that fans can expect more intensity from the second season. "We were in a time of relative peace in season one and all that gets shaken up. Now we're dealing with the aftermath of this big evil that is now concrete. We got the guy now; Sauron is here. In season two, we're grappling with that," he told Deadline. "These characters are grappling with their elvish-ness or their dwarf-ness, with their humanity and their loves. What you're going to see is the depth of our reality and how it is expressed. That's where it all takes off."

The "The Rings of Power" season two was mainly shot in the UK, per Prime Video, making history by being the first J.R.R. Tolkien adaptation to be filmed outside of New Zealand. So far, the filming and production locations that have been named are Bray Film Studios and Bovingdon Airfield, both of which are just outside of London. The two named locations have been home to major films, including "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Rocketman."

The second season of the Amazon Prime television series will have eight episodes. This mirrors season one, which also had an eight-episode run.

A release date has not been confirmed for the show's second season. Season one of "The Rings of Power" filmed for 18 months, and season two began filming on Oct. 3, 2022, but the second season's filming process seems to have been much shorter; in July, Variety confirmed that season two had wrapped filming shortly before the SAG-AFTRA strike.

While there's still lots of post-production work to do, it's likely that we'll still see "The Rings of Power" at some point in 2024. In an October 2022 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, showrunner Patrick McKay noted that he anticipated working on season two for "another couple years." That same year, Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke provided more hope to fans eager to see the next season. "We want the shortest time possible between seasons, but we want to keep the bar just as high," she told Variety. "So it'll take what it takes. But there's been some urgency around moving quickly."