Amazon Prime Video released their The Lord of the Rings prequel series, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power this fall and it was a big hit. The Rings of Power was at the top of the streaming charts for weeks, even after it aired its finale. Prime Video is already filming the second season of the series, but it isn’t expected to premiere until sometime in 2024. Earlier today, it was revealed that a bunch of new cast members will be joining the series for the second season with a major character being recast. Game of Thrones star Joseph Mawle is exiting the series with Sam Hazeldine set to replace him as the Orc leader Adar. Now, Mawle is taking to Twitter to speak out on being replaced.
“I loved my time exploring middle earth and diving into Tolkien’s mythology,” the actor wrote on Twitter. “I’m so honoured that the character was liked. He cared deeply about telling you his story. Though as an actor it remains my wish, my job description to explore new characters and worlds. Wishing all the best to cast and crew for S2, I’ll be cheering you on from the sidelines X.”
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The Rings of Power is ahead of its epic fantasy rival House of the Dragon in Nielsen’s ratings. The most recent episode of The Rings of Power left fans in shock after revealing the origin of an iconic Middle-earth location. The series co-showrunner reflected on the series’ direction ahead of the first season finale.
“A huge theme in Tolkien is the environmentalism and the way machines and industrializations destroys the land,” McKay told The Hollywood Reporter. “We wanted that to be central and core all the time. It’s a thing that comes up again and again throughout the show. So in the writers room, we asked: What if Mordor was beautiful? All bucolic like Switzerland. And then what could happen that could transform it? We talked about the poisoning of the land — which starts in the first episode with the cow. Then you find out about the tunnels being dug and sulfur is going up into the air. It all builds toward this geologically realistic way of igniting the mountain, which now blacks out the sky for a very practical reason — Adar, our villain, sees the Orcs as his people and they deserve a home where the sun doesn’t torment them. We’re hoping it will take people by surprise.”
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 is exclusively streaming on Prime Video.
What did you think of the first season? Let us know in the comments below or by hitting up our writer @NateBrail on Twitter!
