Major spoilers for Season 1 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power are ahead.
Following a massive Season 1, somehow The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is going to one-up itself during Season 2, as an Amazon Studios executive teased. While we’ll still have to wait quite a while for Season 2 of the LOTR prequel, the executive recently opened up about how the next season will be bigger and better, in terms of battles, locations, scope and more. This tease also comes on the heels of the Sauron reveal in the finale, among other revelations, that also helped set the stage for a massive Season 2.
Amazon Studios Head of Global TV, Vernon Sanders spoke with Deadline about the upcoming season of the fantasy series. He discussed the success of Season 1, and how Season 2 will be even bigger and better, explaining:
Season 1 had so much establishing to do that we now get to have the fun of seeing the story ramp up as Sauron is revealed. And I think audiences can look forward to a show that, while it feels true to itself, feels like the stakes are ever higher and now that the rings are in play, seeing what they can do and seeing how the various factions within the world deal with those implications. I think it’s going to be really compelling.
He makes a great point, a lot was revealed, and many questions were posed at the end of Season 1. For instance, we learned that Halbrand is Sauron, after a full season of speculating who the villain would be, the Stranger might be Gandalf and is most definitely a wizard, also the first rings were made, each point rating the stakes of bigger adventures and battles. All of these ginormous plot points put a lot of OG Lord of the Rings concepts and characters in possible play, raising the stakes and the excitement for Season 2 of ROP.
Along with all these exciting storylines to explore in the upcoming season, we’ll also venture to new places in Middle-earth, Sanders revealed. He was talking about filming in new locations since they moved filming from New Zealand to the United Kingdom, and how that will add to the scope of Season 2, saying:
We’re going to new lands, and there are new expansive things happening in season two. And part of the benefit of being in the UK is that we’re going to be able to shoot in places that look very different than what we saw in season one. We’re able to shoot all across Europe, and we will see some of that production value on screen.
Along with new locations, there will also be lots of new cast members in Season 2. Sanders teased that some of the new characters will be “from the lore,” and explained there are more surprises to come, including exciting moments from the books.
Yes, I can say you will see bigger battles in season two including some iconic moments from the appendices and the books.
It’s hard to fathom how this show can get bigger than Season 1 both within the fantasy world of the show and in terms of production. Considering how vast the world already is and how much it costs to produce, I can't wait to see how they are expanding everything. However, based on the climactic ending to the first season, I can imagine the show’s trajectory and how everything will continue to get bigger and better as the seasons go on.
While these teases are exciting, we’ll have to wait a while for Season 2 of Rings of Power. The show is currently in production, however, no release date has been announced. While we wait for this exciting, ramped-up second season of the Lord of the Rings prequel, you can watch the 2022 TV schedule hit with an Amazon Prime subscription.
