The Rings of Power is gearing up for its second season, and we've got everything you need to know to get back into the epic tale: The release date, the cast, where we left off and more.
In the first season of The Rings of Power, we found out that Sauron is not only powerful, but also cunning. He's going to trick the people of Middle-earth into making the Rings of Power and the One Ring for him! Now, we're about to see how he puts his evil plan into motion.
We already know what became of the members of the fellowship in the original movies, so let's take a look at what's to come in Rings of Power Season 2.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 | Release Date
The huge success of the Lord of the Rings spin-off speaks for itself. And considering daddy Jeff Bezos, Amazon's CEO, is a huge LotR fan himself, it doesn't come as a huge surprise that season 2 of Rings of Power is already on its way.
And the wait for that is nearly over: The Rings of Power Season 2 debuts on August 29. The season spans eight brand-new episodes. And it gets even better: a third season is already in the works. According to Amazon, The Rings of Power is their most-watched Original and hence, they have decided to keep the ball going: they are planning five seasons in total.
Rings of Power Season 2 | Returning Cast
The finale of the first season left us with some pretty memorable moments. If you somehow haven't caught up on the show until now: you shall not pass, for there are slight spoilers ahead.
Halbrand has been outed as Sauron in disguise, and so with that cleared up, it's pretty safe to say Charlie Vickers will reprise his role. The same goes for lovely Morfydd Clark – sure, she didn't have the best time lately as Galadriel, but there's no way she won't make Sauron pay.
To top it all off, we expect Daniel Weyman as The Stranger to surely return. Not having him return for Season 2 would be a crime against everything that's good and holy in Middle-earth, so we're pretty confident we'll see him again.
The cast in Rings of Power is obviously huge. Usually, such big productions try their hardest to keep their actors, so it's more likely than not that most of the cast of Season 1 will return – if their character was alive at the end of Season 1, of course. The only currently known recast is Orc leader Adar: Joseph Mawle, who will be replaced by Sam Hazeldine.
And as if the cast wasn't already big enough, there will be lots and lots of new faces and characters in Season 2, including these fine folks:
- Yasen Atour
- Ben Daniels
- Nicholas Woodeson
- Amelia Kenworthy
- Nia Towle
- Gabriel Akuwudike
- Selina Lo
- Will Keen
- Kevin Eldon
- Rory Kinnear
- Tanya Moodie
- Amelia Kenworthy
And that's not even all of them. Oliver Alvin-Wilson will be joining, as well as Gavi Singh Chera, William Chubb, Calam Lynch, Ciarán Hinds and Stuart Bowman. Such an extensive cast surely is one way to spend the bonkers budget they have for the show, and we can't wait to see how it goes!
The Rings of Power Season 2 | Plot Prediction
Plot-wise, there are a bunch of things we pretty much already know will happen.
As we mentioned before, the plot will likely revolve around Sauron's next step in world domination, after the first season showed him beginning to trick the Elves into forging the Rings of Power.
We will probably also dive a little deeper into the origins of the Hobbits and the Shire, as the show included that sub-plot for a good reason. Our best bet is that the show plans to explain why the Hobbits are so resistant to the One Rings corruption (besides Smeagol, I guess).
The official synopsis doesn't give away too much:
In Season Two of The Rings of Power, Sauron has returned. Cast out by Galadriel, without army or ally, the rising Dark Lord must now rely on his own cunning to rebuild his strength and oversee the creation of the Rings of Power, which will allow him to bind all the peoples of Middle-earth to his sinister will. Building on Season One’s epic scope and ambition, the new season plunges even its most beloved and vulnerable characters into a rising tide of darkness, challenging each to find their place in a world that is increasingly on the brink of calamity. Elves and dwarves, orcs and men, wizards and Harfoots… as friendships are strained and kingdoms begin to fracture, the forces of good will struggle ever more valiantly to hold on to what matters to them most of all… each other.
We'll make sure to keep you posted on all further developments. Rest assured we'll update you as soon as there's a release date, a trailer, or whatever else they may have in store!