Many people were skeptical when Amazon announced a new Lord of the Rings series, but The Rings of Power was every bit the success the company hoped it would be. Amazon was so confident in the series that season 2 was ordered before the first season came out.
And now that promised second season—out of a planned five—is getting closer. We cannot wait to see what the second season has in store for us as it continues Galadriel’s story! Especially now that we know all about Sauron!
A new trailer to yell about
At San Diego Comic-Con 2024’s panel on the show, a brand new trailer debuted and drew a lot of excitement from the crowd. You can check it out below:
By the time the previous trailer rolled around, it had been so long since we’d seen footage from The Rings of Power, and getting to see a trailer for season 2 was exciting in itself! The trailer, which showed a lot of Galadriel ready to fight, gives us just enough insight to be ready for season 2 (which is coming sooner than we expected)!
Who’s in the cast of The Rings of Power season 2?
It seems very likely that all the surviving characters from season 1 will be back. That includes Morfydd Clark as Galadriel, Markella Kavenagh as Nori Brandyfoot, Daniel Weyman as The Stranger (who is totally Gandalf, right?), Ismael Cruz Córdova as Arrondir, Owain Arthur as Prince Durin, Sophia Nomvete as Princess Disa, Robert Aramayo as Elrond, Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Queen Míriel and Charlie Vickers as (spoiler alert) Hot Sauron. Of course, this is just a small portion of the overall cast list, because this is a BIG damn show.
We have confirmation on some new faces as well! According to Deadline, all these actors are all set to appear in the next season, although which characters they’ll play is still currently a secret. Presented in alphabetical order:
- Gabriel Akuwudike
- Oliver Alvin-Wilson
- Yasen ‘Zates’ Atour
- Stuart Bowman
- Gavi Singh Chera
- William Chubb
- Ben Daniels
- Kevin Eldon
- Ciarán Hinds
- Will Keen
- Amelia Kenworthy
- Rory Kinnear
- Selina Lo
- Calam Lynch
- Tanya Moodie
- Nia Towle
- Nicholas Woodeson
So although we lost a few characters during the last season (RIP, Sir Lenny Henry’s Sadoc Burrow, you will be missed) it seems we have plenty of new ones to make up for it!
One actor not returning for season 2 is Joseph Mawle, who played Adar. He confirmed on Twitter that he was finished with the role.
We haven’t seen the last of Adar, though! Sam Hazeldine of The Sandman will take over the role instead.
Who are the directors for The Rings of Power season 2?
It’s an all-female directing team for the second season! Charlotte Brändström will take over as head director from Wayne Che Yip, and Sanaa Hamri and Louise Hooper will be joining her. Reportedly Brändström will be directing four of the season’s eight episodes, and Hamri and Hooper will direct two each.
Brändström will also become a co-executive producer when season 2 rolls round.
Which LOTR storylines will be featured in The Rings of Power season 2?
As you can imagine, story details are few and far between at this point in time, but some of the actors have spilled a little bit about where their characters are headed. Markella Kavenagh, Daniel Weyman and Morfydd Clark chatted to Inverse last October and thanks to them, we know that Nori and the Stranger will be “trying to find the stars, what they mean, and whether they’re gonna help the Stranger find his home.” Meanwhile Galadriel, according to Clark, is looking for redemption after her “terrible mistake” in season 1.
Kavenagh also revealed something about Nori’s long-term plans via an arc that could last for the rest of the show. She said, “There’s a greater purpose she feels for herself, and potentially for the Harfoots to find a better quality of life, and to help them find a solid home. I think she’s got that in the back of her mind. It’s in the back of my mind as well.”
But what about the villains of this story? Well, there’s good news there for viewers who were seduced by Sauron, a being who, let us not forget, was described by Tolkien as “fair” (i.e., hawt). Co-showrunner Patrick McKay told The Hollywood Reporter:
“Sauron can now just be Sauron. Like Tony Soprano or Walter White. He’s evil, but complexly evil. We felt like if we did that in season one, he’d overshadow everything else. So the first season is like Batman Begins, and the The Dark Knight is the next movie, with Sauron maneuvering out in the open. We’re really excited. Season two has a canonical story. There may well be viewers who are like, ‘This is the story we were hoping to get in season one!’ In season two, we’re giving it to them.”
Which characters from the original Tolkien lore will appear in season 2?
Co-showrunner J.D. Payne revealed something intriguing to Time in 2022: “We don’t want to give too much away, but one character we’re excited for folks to meet in season 2 is Círdan the Shipwright,” said Payne. “In the time of our story, he’s the oldest of all known elves in Middle-Earth—in fact he lived so long, he had a beard.”
We also may very well see Celeborn, Galadriel’s husband, in the upcoming season. He got a mention in season 1 and we learned Galadriel believed him dead. But he’s very much not dead, and in fact you may remember seeing him at Galadriel’s side in Peter Jackson’s The Fellowship of the Ring, where he was played by Marton Csokas. The showrunners are keeping it vague as to whether Celeborn will really appear in the show, but Morfydd Clark told Radio Times in October 2022, “I feel that when or if we meet Celeborn we will meet someone who truly knows Galadriel.” That sounds like an opening for some delicious drama.
As for who will portray Círdan and Celeborn—who might even have been cast already—stay tuned!
What about the trolls?
No, not the trolls who inhabit Middle-Earth. I mean the internet trolls who review-bombed The Rings of Power with racist and sexist nonsense. Well, bad news for them: the second season is also going to have a diverse cast. Amazon’s Head of Global TV Vernon Sanders told Deadline last year, “The series continues to be cast from all around the world. We think that represents the show that we created in season 1, and we’re doing the same thing for season 2, we are trying to find the best actor for the role.”
He also added, “We’ve already announced that there’ll be some characters from the lore. I don’t think we’ve announced all of them, so there are surprises to come. I think the fans will be really delighted.”
When will The Rings of Power season 2 drop on Amazon?
Production on the second season began in October 2022, with filming moving from New Zealand to the United Kingdom. And according to Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke, who spoke to Variety about the show last year while the first season was airing, the powers that be “want the shortest time possible between seasons.” She went on, “So it’ll take what it takes. But there’s been some urgency around moving quickly, which is why these guys have been writing all through their hiatus. We’re moving fast.”
And now we know that the second season is heading our way on August 29th!
(featured image: Amazon)
Published: Jul 26, 2024 02:48 pm