Amazon Studio's Head of Global TV, Vernon Sanders, is teasing that Season 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will be teeming with epic Tolkien moments.
In an interview with Deadline, Sanders says that Season 2 will include "bigger battles" than Season 1, with "some iconic moments from the appendices and the books." He also noted that, in creating the new episodes, "We are going to be able to put more money on screen, just in terms of the scale and scope of what we’re doing now that we know how to do it." He added that Season 2 will be quicker paced, as "everyone’s been established, the stakes are established," and because "we’re going to watch some characters in some lands go to war."
The Rings of Power Season 2 Goes Bigger
The Rings of Power showrunner Patrick McKay previously promised that the show's second season, which is currently filming in the U.K., will be "bigger and better" on "every level... by an order of magnitude." Part of this, according to executive producer Lindsey Weber, has to do with the fact that Sauron's identity is finally out in the open. She explained that, now that he's "out and about and doing his thing," The Rings of Power is set to get "grittier, more intense," and "maybe a little scarier."
But it's not just Sauron who is set to have a major impact on Season 2 of the show. Co-showrunner J.D. Payne revealed that the new episodes of The Rings of Power will be a success, in part, because he and McKay took audience criticisms to heart. "The cake was kind of baked before the audience response came in," he explained, noting that, while they're not "over-correcting for any of it," they were intent on "listening to people’s responses." Additionally, the aforementioned appendices -- the expanded lore author J.R.R. Tolkien included at the end of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King -- will apparently help guide the series further.
Jumping on board to help McKay and Payne with improving The Rings of Power for Season 2 are a slate of new directors, including The Witcher, Rectify, and Shameless' Sanaa Hamri, andThe Wheel of Time's Louise Hooper. Returning to the show is Charlotte Brändström, who directed Season 1's Episode 6, "Udûn" and Episode 7, "The Eye."
Additionally, The Rings of Power Season 2 added a slate of new actors for recurring roles, including Oliver Alvin-Wilson, Stuart Bowman, Gavi Singh Chera, William Chubb, Kevin Eldon, Will Keen, Selina Lo, and Calam Lynch. Unfortunately for the show's fans, The Lord of the Rings show's second season is not expected to arrive in 2023, as Sanders speculated in another interview, given the current stage of production.
Season 1 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.
Source: Deadline