| The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power | |
|---|---|
| Season 3 | |
| Showrunners | |
| Release | |
| Original network | Amazon Prime Video |
| Season chronology | |
The third season of the American fantasy television series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is based on J. R. R. Tolkien's history of Middle-earth, primarily material from the appendices of the novel The Lord of the Rings (1954–55). Set thousands of years before the novel in Middle-earth's Second Age, the season takes place several years after the second at the height of the war between the Elves and the Dark Lord Sauron. It depicts the latter's efforts to create the One Ring, which will give him the power to win the war and conquer all of Middle-earth. The season is produced by Amazon MGM Studios in association with New Line Cinema and with J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay as showrunners.
Amazon acquired the television rights to The Lord of the Rings in November 2017 and made a multi-season commitment for a new series. A third season was being written by October 2024, and it was officially confirmed in February 2025. Filming began by mid-May in the United Kingdom, with Charlotte Brändström, Sanaa Hamri, and Stefan Schwartz directing.
The season is expected to premiere on the streaming service Amazon Prime Video.
Charlotte Brändström, Sanaa Hamri, and Stefan Schwartz are directing multiple episodes each. [1] Writers for the season include J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay, Justin Doble, Ben Tagoe, Ava Wong Davies, Constance Cheng, Jonathan Wilson, Griff Jones, and Sarah Anson. [2]
Amazon acquired the television rights for J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings (1954–55) in November 2017. The company's streaming service, Amazon Prime Video, gave a multi-season commitment to a series based on the novel and its appendices that was believed to be for five seasons, to be produced by Amazon MGM Studios in association with New Line Cinema and in consultation with the Tolkien Estate. The budget was expected to be around US$100–150 million per season, [8] and the streaming service had to give a formal greenlight to future seasons before work could begin on them. [9] J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay were hired to develop the series in July 2018, [10] and were named showrunners a year later. [11] They announced the series' full title, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power , in January 2022. [12] That August, Amazon explained that the deal with Tolkien's estate required the company to keep the series distinct from Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings (2001–2003) and The Hobbit (2012–2014) film adaptations. [13] Despite this, the showrunners intended for it to be visually consistent with the films. [14] Later that month, Amazon announced that it was moving production of the series from New Zealand, where Jackson's films and the first season were made, to the United Kingdom starting with the second season. [15]
Amazon's television head Vernon Sanders said in December 2022 that the company was committed to Payne and McKay's five-season plan and months of work had already been done on the third season. He said there had not been any official announcements due to their focus on the second season, but he expected the renewal to be announced in "the new year". [16] In August 2023, a third season of The Rings of Power was included in a report of in-development projects. [17] By February 2024, when Payne and McKay extended their overall deal with Amazon MGM Studios, the pair had started outlining the season's story. It had not yet been officially ordered and a writers' room had not been opened for it. [18] The lack of official announcements led to speculation about the series' future among fans, especially because the second season was ordered years before the first was released. [2] Around the second season's premiere in August 2024, Payne and McKay said they were working on the third season, [19] and they did not have any contingency plans should Amazon choose to end the series earlier than five seasons. [20] In early September, Amazon was reported to be committed to the five-season plan after seeing the second season's initial viewership. This was despite a significant drop in viewership from the first season and ongoing concerns about the series' quality from some critics and viewers. [21] By early October, when the second season finished airing, a writers' room had been opened for the third season and the showrunners said they were "deep in the writing process". [2] [22] Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke said there was "no debate about whether or not the show will continue", [23] and an official renewal was reported to be coming by the end of the month. [2]
Prime Video officially confirmed the season in February 2025. Charlotte Brändström, Sanaa Hamri, and Stefan Schwartz were each set to direct multiple episodes. Brändström, returning from the first two seasons, was made an executive producer for the third. Hamri also worked on the second season, while Schwartz was newly hired for the third. Payne, McKay, Lindsey Weber, Justin Doble, and Kate Hazell were also executive producers. [1]
The writers' room for the season included Payne, McKay, Doble, Ben Tagoe, Ava Wong Davies, Constance Cheng, Jonathan Wilson, Griff Jones, and Sarah Anson. Their work was underway by October 2024. [2] The showrunners structured the series so each season would be built around several "major tentpole moments" from Tolkien's history of the Second Age of Middle-earth; [24] the third season begins several years after the second at the height of the "War of the Elves and Sauron", and depicts the creation of the Dark Lord Sauron's One Ring which he believes will give him the power to win the war and conquer all of Middle-earth. [1]
Cast members who are expected to return from the previous seasons include Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Míriel, [3] Robert Aramayo as Elrond, Morfydd Clark as Galadriel, [4] [ better source needed ] Charlie Vickers as Sauron, and Daniel Weyman as Gandalf. [7]
In February 2025, Amazon announced the casting of Jamie Campbell Bower as a series regular and Eddie Marsan in a recurring role for the season. Bower's character was reported to be the biggest addition for the season, described as a "handsome high-born knight" with the code name "Arlen" who was potentially a new love interest for Galadriel. Marsan's role, code named "Dromm", reportedly required a Scottish accent like the series' Dwarves and was said to have a brother, [5] leading to speculation that he could be playing the brother of Durin IV that was mentioned at the end of the second season. Further casting was announced in June after filming began: Andrew Richardson as a series regular, with Zubin Varla and Adam Young in recurring roles. This announcement came following reports of casting for a "sea captain in his 20s" who would be a series regular for the season. Varla provided additional voice work for three episodes of the second season; it was unclear whether his new role was related to that voice work. [6]
In February 2024, production for the third season was expected to be moved from Bray Film Studios in Berkshire, where the second season was filmed, to Shepperton Studios in Surrey, [18] after Amazon signed a long-term deal for exclusive use of new facilities at Shepperton in 2022. [25] The second season was originally intended to be made at Shepperton but the expanded facilities were not ready on time. [26] Amazon acquired Bray Film Studios in July 2024, and Salke indicated in October that the series could continue to be produced there. [23] [27] However, production on the series was confirmed to have moved to Shepperton Studios in February 2025. Pre-production was underway there by then, [1] and filming was reported to be starting on April 30. [28] It was confirmed to have begun by mid-May. [29] [6]
Composer Bear McCreary was "gearing up" for the season by early May 2025. McCreary said he was "bring[ing] everything back" from the previous seasons along with some new sounds for the franchise. [30]
The season is expected to premiere on the streaming service Prime Video. [1]
