The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 Begins Filming

10/03/2022 02:21 pm EDT

Work on Prime Video's second trip to Middle-earth in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is officially underway. Prime Video announced Monday that The Rings of Power began production on its second season at its new headquarters at Bray Studios outside of London. Additional filming will take place in New Zealand, where The Ring of Power shot its first season. A recent Nielsen ratings report showed The Rings of Power ahead of epic fantasy rival House of the Dragon. The Rings of Power topped the streaming charts with 1.3 billion minutes viewed for its first two episodes, which were released on the same day. 

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is approaching its first season finale, and fans are still guessing which character may or may not be Sauron in disguise. Prime Video renewed The Lord of the Rings: of Power for a second season years before the series debuted.

With two episodes left to go, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power's sixth episode seemed to be a milestone as some of the show's ensemble leads came together for the first time. That meeting did not end well for them, and it left fans in shock.

Like the first season, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 will have eight episodes. The first season shot for 18 months. It's unclear if relocating to the U.K., where Amazon has created a base of operations for its television productions, will speed up production on Season 2. If not, fans may not see more of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power until 2024.

The announcement also revealed the addition of Círdan to the cast in Season 2. The series has yet to cast the role. Círdan is the oldest living Elf in Middle-earth and considered one of the wisest of all Elves. In Tolkien's writings, Círdan and Galadriel are among the only voices to caution against accepting gifts from Annatar (Sauron in disguise) when he brings knowledge of how to forge magic rings to the Elves. Later, Círdan comes to bear Narya, the Ring of Fire, one of The Three Rings that Celebrimbor gifts to the Elves.

Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne developed The Rings of Power for Prime Video, inspired by the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and set in the Second Age of the world of Middle-earth. The show's cast includes Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Maxim Baldry, Nazanin Boniadi, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Charles Edwards, Trystan Gravelle, Sir Lenny Henry, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Lloyd Owen, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, Leon Wadham, Benjamin Walker, Daniel Weyman, and Sara Zwangobani.

The Lord of the Rings; The Rings of Power debuts new episodes on Fridays on Prime Video. Two episodes remain in the first season.

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