The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Showrunners Tease Sauron's Season 2 Plans

J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay talk Sauron in The Rings of Power now that "the audience is in on the con."

By Jamie Jirak

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is returning to Prime Video for its second season in August, and the show is expected to have more focus on Sauron, the primary villain of the franchise. Back in May, fans got a brand-new look at Sauron, who is played by Charlie Vickers in the series. The Rings of Power Season 2 is expected to see Sauron move from his identity as human warrior Halbrand to the Elf named Annatar, the Lord of Gifts. During a recent chat with Empire, The Rings of Power showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay spoke more about the show's second season and teased Sauron's plans.

"If you had to pick one reason to make this show and set it in this era of the mythology, that's it," McKay explained. "From minute one, we talked about Milton's Paradise Lost, Walter White, and Tony Soprano, and how Sauron has the potential to be like these great villain-heroes – hero meaning protagonist ... That's the great untold story on the screen."

"He was hiding amongst our story," McKay explained of Sauron's role in Season One. "The opportunity now with Season 2 is: the audience is in on the con. We know who he is. We have a pretty good sense of what he wants. The fun is watching other people get ensnared in the web. As the season unfolds, the plan starts. One hammer after another starts to fall until, by the last couple of episodes, you realise the level and extent of how evil he is and how deeply he's strategised this whole thing out." A

"All our stories start to become one story," McKay added.  'And the one story is the way the re-emergence of Sauron touches everybody and threatens the whole world."

"I was so excited to get to this point of the story, because this is the canon of this time period," Vickers added. "You have Sauron and Celebrimbor working together, making rings. Everything Sauron does is to serve other people, to appeal to someone else. In the same way the whole Halbrand thing was for Galadriel, this new look is for Celebrimbor. This is the best way to get him to do what he wants him to do: make a bunch of rings that'll dominate everyone else." 

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The Rings of Power cast includes Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Maxim Baldry, 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. Season 1 star Nazanin Boniadi will not be returning as the healer Bronwyn, having moved on from acting. 

The Rings of Power will premiere its first three episodes of Season 2 on August 29th. 

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