The Rings of Power Season 3 Is Officially Happening — With An Exciting Twist
The wait is nearly over.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is the crown jewel in Prime Video’s crown. On paper, it has all the qualifications to be the next great fantasy show: sweeping locales, lush costumes, visceral action, and a cast that’s always willing to go the extra mile. Season 2, which aired its bombastic finale last October, was Prime’s most-watched returning season by number of hours watched. By most accounts, The Rings of Power is already a massive success... but it still has a ways to go before it can fulfill its true potential.
Fortunately, the series is getting another date with destiny very soon. A new season has reportedly been in the works for some time, but Amazon has given The Rings of Power an official renewal. Season 3 will shoot this spring at a new production hub in the United Kingdom — and according to The Hollywood Reporter, the next chapter of the series has a major surprise in store, one that could fix its biggest issue.
Per the official synopsis for Season 3, The Rings of Power is jumping “several years” into the future. Its upcoming season “takes place at the height of the War of the Elves and Sauron, as the Dark Lord seeks to craft the One Ring that will give him the edge he needs to win the war and conquer all Middle-earth at last.”
Sauron will be hitting the ground running in the new season of The Rings of Power.
The Rings of Power Season 2 culminated in the first major battle between the Elven army and the Dark Lord Sauron (Charlie Vickers), with heavy losses on both sides. While Sauron succeeded in crafting more Rings of Power, he lost the trust of the Elven smith Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) before he could forge the One Ring. Our heroes, meanwhile, didn’t exactly win their first battle with Sauron’s Orc army. The kingdom of Eregion was also totally destroyed, but there’s still a silver lining. The surviving Elves — led by High King Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker), Elrond (Robert Aramayo), and Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) — will regroup and rebuild, creating two iconic Lord of the Rings locales in the process.
A lot of Season 3 will likely take place in Rivendell, a sanctuary for the Elves that also plays a huge role in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. As the story goes, the city took several years to build, so it’d make sense for The Rings of Power to skip over any growing pains and bring us to Rivendell at its peak. We can also expect Galadriel to settle in the realm of Lothlórien, gain even more powers to aid in the fight against Sauron, and (perhaps most importantly) reunite with her missing husband, Celeborn. We’ll have to wait and see if The Rings of Power will reintroduce the Elven heroine after all of this has taken place, but Season 3 has the potential to reinvigorate the series — and fix a few canon blindspots — in one fell swoop.
A major time jump in Season 3 could fix The Rings of Power’s biggest pacing issues.
Sauron’s attempts to conquer Middle-earth, and the quest to defeat him, take place across centuries, so it can’t hurt to skip over the filler and get to the stuff fans truly want to see. Pacing has long been an issue in The Rings of Power, and its second season especially felt like it was dragging its feet where certain arcs were concerned. A time jump will bring us closer to the final battle between Sauron and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, a major moment in Middle-earth history. It could bring a few iconic Lord of the Rings characters — like Gandalf (Daniel Weyman), whose identity was finally revealed at the end of Season 2, or Isildur (Maxim Baldry), who’s always felt lost in the narrative — closer to their respective destinies. Either way, The Rings of Power has the chance to resolve its most frustrating loose ends. Season 3 could be just what the series needs to reach its next level, and become the fantasy epic it truly deserves to be.
