Rings of Power Casts Stranger Things Star In Major Role (But Who Is He Playing?)

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power just picked up two big stars for Season 3 — Stranger Things‘ Jamie Campbell Bower and Ray Donovan’s Eddie Marsan. Bower is about to conclude his tenure as the big bad in Hawkins, Indiana, Vecna, while Marsan most recently appeared in the Netflix original series Heartstopper. According to a report by Deadline, Bower’s role is that of a high-born knight, which sounds like the break from villainy that Bower has been looking for. Marsan has been cast in a recurring role, which reportedly requires a Scottish accent, leading fans to speculate he will play a dwarf. Pre-production for the season is underway now, and filming is expected to begin imminently.

The details on this casting news are officially under wraps, and has been reported so far relies on the casting calls circulating among actors in Hollywood. Casting directors gave a code name to Bower’s role, Arlen, which does not match any major character we’re looking out for in Rings of Power. He is described as a handsome, high-born knight, and some are speculating that he may be a new love interest for Galadriel.

Meanwhile, Marsan’s role has been code-named Dromm. The casting call reportedly said that he had a brother, and that he should have a passable Scottish accent. This was the accent used for dwarves in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films, and that has generally carried over to Rings of Power as well. This is a recurring role, so it’s not clear how central it will be to the plot.

[RELATED: Lord of the Rings: What Will Rings of Power Season 3 Be About?]

This is big new for Bower, who recently made headlines for comments about his experience playing villains. Bower played the younger version of Gellert Grindelwald in the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts films, and now he is entering the final season of Stranger Things as the main antagonist as well. During a recent panel at MegaCon in Orlando, Florida, Bower revealed that he was actively looking for non-villain roles going forward, and that he had even talked to his therapist about the effect playing bad guys was having on him.

“We were going through some stuff, and he was like, ‘We really need to make sure that you carve out time for you whenever you’re working next,’” he said. “I turned around to him, and I was like, ‘Yeah, to be honest with you, man, I just don’t think I’ll be doing another bad guy for a minute.’ Like, it f—s me up. I’m dead serious.”

If Bower is playing another love interest for Galadriel, he could be playing the elf prince who goes on to become her husband, Celeborn. In J.R.R. Tolkien’s books, Galadriel and Celeborn are already married by the time the Rings of Power are forged, and they already have a daughter named Celebrían. The description of a high-born knight could be a good match — Celeborn came from the royal family of the elves of Doriath, but their home was destroyed in the previous war against Sauron and Morgoth. Celeborn has an important part to play in the wars to come, as well as in the main series. In the movie trilogy, he is played by Marton Csokas.

The Rings of Power Season 3 will begin filming any day now, but there is no estimated release date so far. The series has already been renewed for a fourth season as well. The previous two seasons are streaming now on Prime Video, and Tolkien’s books are available in print, digital, and audiobook formats.