Amazon Hints ‘The Rings of Power’ Season 2 Will Come Sooner Than Expected

Ready to journey back to the Middle-earth? Luckily, Amazon Studios has teased the return of their popular series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

The show, created by J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay for Amazon Prime Video, is based on The Lord of the Rings novels by J. R. R. Tolkien. The story takes place thousands of years before The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, both of which were adapted into film series which began releasing, respectively, in 2012 and 2001.

“Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth,” the show’s synopsis reads.

The Rings of Power premiered in September on the streaming service and broke records, becoming the most-viewed Prime Video premiere. The eight episodes were well-received and Amazon Studios’ Head of Global TV, Vernon Sanders, claims that it has only grown in popularity since.

In an interview with Deadline, published Monday (Dec. 19), Sanders said, “It is by far our biggest scripted series, it is the most acquisitive show that we’ve put out. After we finished releasing episodes, we saw a new surge of people come to the service to start the show.” He continued, “We’ve already released the fact that we’re over 100 million, and the number has gone up since then, it’s millions and millions beyond that.”

It is this faithfulness in the content and the fanbase that landed the series an early Season 2 pickup in 2019, nearly two years before the show aired. Now, with all of this good news out in the open, where does that leave the second season? Here’s everything we know about The Rings of Power Season 2 release date.

When Will The Rings of Power Season 2 Premiere?

Only three months have passed since the last episode of The Rings of Power Season 1, but viewers are already dying for more. Thankfully, Amazon Studios has been generous with updates on the fantasy series. The show began production on the second season in early October in the UK, and just yesterday, three new female directors were announced for the season: Charlotte Brändström, Sanaa Hamri, and Louise Hooper.

But unfortunately, the production team is still creating the new episodes, meaning they will not be released in the near future. Earlier this week, Vernon Sanders told Collider that it is unlikely that Season 2 will air in 2023. “I don’t know that I can say… It would be amazing if we could get Season 2 out within a year of Season 1’s release. It may take a smidge longer than that, but we’re doing everything we can, and we’re going to get better and faster as we go,” Sanders explained when asked if the new season will premiere next year.

He continued, “Certainly, the production, what we’ve learned in Season 1, has taught us things that we’re applying in Season 2, and so far we set a goal for ourselves of when we want that show to be released, and we are on track and on plan.”

That being said, while speaking with Deadline, the studio head said that production is “going great” and that information about a potential Season 3 may drop in the new year. He said, “There’s so much planning and prep that’s necessary for us to get this mounted that the only reason we probably haven’t gotten there quite yet is we’ve just been so heads down in Season 2, but I would expect there to be news in the new year.”

In sum, it sounds like we still have quite a bit of time to wait for The Rings of Power Season 2; however, Amazon Studios is working hard to get the episodes out as soon as possible.