The Rings of Power returns for a second season on Prime Video, and we couldn't be more excited. After an epic finale which saw Halbrand revealed as the Dark Lord, Sauron, Middle-earth is in greater danger than ever. Here's everything we know about the release date, plot and cast.
When will season two premiere?
Good news fellow Tolkienites! Season two is finally here! Debuting globally on Amazon Prime, fans can tune in on Thursday 29 August 2024. Check out the epic trailer here - which teases Sauron's power growing through the use of the nine rings of power.
What is it about?
Bound by the ever-growing darkness, Galadriel, Elrond, Prince Durin IV, Arondir, Celebrimbor and more fan favourite characters will continue to tread their own paths while fighting to protect all they hold dear.
“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,” explains the synopsis.
© Amazon Prime“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.
"The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth's history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness."
Meet the cast of season two
Series two sets the stage for Sauron, with Charlie Vickers reprising his role as one of literature’s greatest villains. Meanwhile, Morfydd Clark returns as the fearless Galadriel, alongside Ismael Cruz Córdova as Arondir, Robert Aramayo as Elrond, Charles Edwards as Celebrimbor and Benjamin Walker as Gil-Galad.
Fans can also expect to see Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Nazanin Boniadi, Owain Arthur, Peter Mullan, Lloyd Owen and more. Additionally, new cast members have signed on for season two, although details on their characters are currently under wraps. Among the stars expected to appear are Ciarán Hinds, Rory Kinnear, Tanya Moodie, Gabriel Akuwudike, Ben Daniels, Yasen 'Zates' Atour, Sam Hazeldine, Amelia Kenworthy, Nia Towle, Nicholas Woodeson, Oliver Alvin-Wilson, Stuart Bowman, Calam Lynch, William Chubb, Kevin Eldon, Will Keen, Selina Lo and Gavi Singh Chera.
Where is Rings of Power filmed?
Like the original The Lord of the Rings movies, Prime Video's Rings of Power is filmed in the stunning New Zealand, which is known for it's incredible landscapes. The show is filmed across the country's North and South islands in 28 different spots.
Speaking about the gorgeous terrain, Location scout Kevin Spring said: "I suspect the audience will be wowed with the locations… We’ve created worlds that none of the other Tolkien adaptations has ever seen.
"They’re going to be unique just by the nature of them being the tapestry of different places creating one world. I just think that it’s a real showreel of New Zealand’s locations. You look at where we’ve been and it’s just an incredible showcase of the country."
The mythical country of Númenor is filmed in the Coromandel region in the North Island, and is a hugely popular tourist spot thanks to its beautiful oceans and beaches. The Harfoots go through some amazing landscapes in season one, which was filmed in Mangaotaki Valley - and a local tour company will even take you around the sites!
