Lord of the Rings The Rings of Power: Release date, trailers and news
One TV show to rule them all?
J.R.R. Tolkien fans, prepare yourselves for an era of Middle Earth you’ve never seen on screen before.
Amazon’s Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power – a prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy – will take us back in history to a time thousands of years before The Hobbit, and will enter the record books as the first production to tell the story of Tolkien's 'Second Age' of Middle Earth.
And now the final Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power trailer has dropped, teasing elven vistas, underground dwarven cities, and goblins and orcs hunting in the woods. Read more on trailers below.
While plot details remain thin on the ground, showrunner Patrick McKay previously discussed the series in a first-look feature with Vanity Fair, revealing: "The forging of the rings. Rings for the elves, rings for dwarves, rings for men, and then the one ring Sauron used to deceive them all.
"It’s the story of the creation of all those powers, where they came from, and what they did to each of those races.”
He asked of the series: “Can we come up with the novel Tolkien never wrote and do it as the mega-event series that could only happen now?”
He later told Entertainment Weekly: "We were not interested in doing a show about the younger version of the same world you knew, where it's a little bit of a prequel.
"We wanted to go way, way, way back and find a story that could exist on its own two feet. This was one that we felt hadn't been told on the level and the scale and with the depth that we felt it deserved."
Read on for everything you need to know about Amazon's Lord of the Rings TV series, with confirmed cast, showrunner details and release date - and of course, we'll be keeping this page updated as soon as new information drops.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power release date
CONFIRMED: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series will begin on Friday 2nd September 2022.
Episodes will then be released weekly on Amazon Prime Video.
Production on the series began in February 2020 and wrapped on 3rd August 2021 despite a delay caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
Amazon also announced that shooting took a break for four or five months after the first two episodes were filmed to see what was working.
And the shoot is not cheap: an incredible $465 million is being spent on the first season of the show, making the series something of a big gamble for the streaming service.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power cast
The full cast of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has already been revealed.
- Robert Aramayo as Elrond
- Morfydd Clark as Galadriel
- Owain Arthur as Prince Durin IV
- Nazanin Boniadi as Bronwyn
- Ismael Cruz Córdova as Arondir
- Charles Edwards as Celebrimbor
- Maxim Baldry as Isildur
- Sophia Nomvete as Princess Disa
- Charlie Vickers as Halbrand
- Lenny Henry as Sadoc Burrows
- Simon Merrells as Trevyn
- Megan Richards as Poppy Proudfellow
- Dylan Smith as Largo Brandyfoot
- Daniel Weyman as The Stranger
- Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Queen Regent Míriel
- Peter Mullan
- Lloyd Owen as Elendil
- Ema Horvath as Eärien
- Markella Kavenagh as Elanor "Nori" Brandyfoot
- Joseph Mawle
- Tyroe Muhafidin as Theo
- Augustus Prew
- Peter Tait
- Ian Blackburn
- Kip Chapman
- Anthony Crum
- Maxine Cunliffe
- Trystan Gravelle as Pharazôn
- Thusitha Jayasundera
- Fabian McCallum
- Geoff Morrell
- Alex Tarrant
- Leon Wadham as Kemen
- Benjamin Walker as High King Gil-galad
- Sara Zwangobani as Marigold Brandyfoot
- Will Fletcher
- Amelie Child-Villiers
- Beau Cassidy
- Anson Boon
Bandersnatch star Will Poulter was meant to be playing a lead character. However, in December it was reported that Poulter had been forced to withdraw due to a scheduling conflict, with his role instead going to Robert Aramayo - who played young Ned Stark on Game of Thrones.
Aramayo will be playing Elrond, previously played by Hugo Weaving in the film trilogy, who is here described in Vanity Fair as "a politically ambitious young elven leader".
Poulter recently confirmed to NME.com that he pulled out of the project due to a scheduling conflict created by the pandemic. "I have utmost respect for everyone involved in that project," he said. "And I have no doubt it's going to be incredible."
Charles Edwards will be portraying elven smith Celebrimbor, while Dracula and His Dark Materials star Morfydd Clark taking over from Cate Blanchett in the role of Galadriel who will be a central character in the series.
Elsewhere, Charlie Vickers has been cast in the major role of fugitive Halbrand who is running from his past and who crosses paths with Galadriel.
Meanwhile, Years and Years star Maxim Baldry has also been cast "in a significant role" - news which has now been confirmed by Deadline, with Baldry adding to an impressive CV that also includes roles in Doctor Who and 80 episodes of Hollyoaks.
He has been confirmed to be playing the sailor Isildur, the future warrior and King of Gondor who later wields the One Ring of Sauron.
Ema Horvath has also been cast as Eärien, Isildur's sister, while Lloyd Owen takes on the pivotal role of Isildur's father who is a human sailor and future High King of Arnor and Gondor.
Owen told Entertainment Weekly: "Ultimately, those of us that know the lore know Elendil ends up helping to lead the Last Alliance of elves and men. But how he gets there? Tolkien hasn't written the man in three dimensions, and that's the gift of this [show]."
Joseph Mawle - who is no stranger to fantasy fans due to his turn as Benjen Stark on Game of Thrones - has also been cast, with the star reportedly set to play the main antagonist in the series.
The full main cast was announced by Amazon in January 2020, with a host of new names - both familiar faces and relative newcomers - becoming attached to the project.
Welsh actor Owain Arthur is one of those to have joined the cast, with the show becoming the most high profile gig on his CV - which also includes appearances on Babylon, Casualty and A Confession.
Arthur is portraying Durin IV, the prince of the Dwarven city of Khazad-dûm.
Former Homeland star Nazanin Boniadi is another star confirmed for the series, portraying a human mother named Bronwyn who works as a healer who owns an apothecary in the Southlands.
Australian actor Tom Budge had also signed on but has since left the project over creative differences, saying on Instagram: "After recently seeing the first episodes shot over the last year Amazon has decided to go in another direction with the character I was portraying."
Meanwhile, Ismael Cruz Córdova - best known for his role in Ray Donovan has also been given a role in the series - has been cast in the role of the original character and Elf, Arondir.
He is a Silvan Elf who has a forbidden love for Bronwyn.
Young star Markella Kavenagh - whose previous TV credits include Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Cry and The Gloaming. Kavenagh portrays a curious Harfoot named Elanor "Nori" Brandyfoot.
Following in the footsteps of real-life knights Sir Ian McKellen, Sir Christopher Lee and Sir Ian Holm, Sir Lenny Henry himself has joined the series as the Harfoot elder Sadoc Burrows.
Meanwhile, Power's Cynthia Addai-Robinson has also joined the sprawling cast, taking on the role of the human Queen Regent of Numenor, Míriel.
Other stars involved in the series include, Ema Horvath (Don't Look Deeper), Megan Richards (Wanderlust), Dylan Smith (Maze Runner), Daniel Weyman (Silent Witness) and screen newcomers Tyroe Muhafidin and Sophia Nomvete.
Just as filming was finishing in July 2021, Amazon announced yet more cast members - namely Will Fletcher (The Girl Who Fell), Amelie Child-Villiers (The Machine) and newcomer Beau Casidy.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter actor Benjamin Walker was cast in an unknown role, and revealed that after a months-long audition process he was finally offered the part during a phone call with showrunner J.D. Payne - who was in hospital at the time as his wife was giving birth.
"He's got the level of commitment you're going to need to get this show to be where it should be," Walker told Collider. "It would be a huge mistake to not take part."
It was later confirmed that Walker is portraying the pivotal role of Gil-galad, the High King of the Elves of Middle-Earth, ruling from the realm of Lindon.
Elsewhere, Ian McKellen, who played Gandalf in all six of the Lord of the Rings/Hobbit films, has expressed his interest in reprising his role for the TV series — sort of. During an interview on Graham Norton's BBC radio show back in December 2017, Norton asked whether McKellen would be annoyed to see another actor playing Gandalf.
“What do you mean, another Gandalf?," McKellen responded, before adding: "I haven’t said yes because I haven’t been asked. But are you suggesting that someone else is going to play it? Gandalf is over 7,000 years old, so I’m not too old.”
Meanwhile, Orlando Bloom – who played Legolas in the films – has all but ruled himself out, telling Entertainment Tonight: "I don’t know where I would fit in now in that world. If I think you’re saying [I’d come back] as Legolas, they probably got a 19-year-old kid."
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power trailers
The first trailer for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power was released by Amazon Prime Video in February 2022 and shows off the scope and stunning visuals in the series.
There are some appearances from characters such as Galadriel and Elrond who appear in the footage.
A second full trailer that primarily focuses on Galadriel was released on Thursday 14th July 2022.
"You have not seen what I have seen," Galadriel tells Elrond during the trailer as we are shown further sweeping vistas.
A third trailer - and the longest released so far - was shown as San Diego Comic-Con on Friday 22nd July 2022.
The clip was subsequently released online by Prime Video and gave fans across the world an intriguing look at The Rings of Power.
"We thought the war, at last, was ended," reveals Galadriel in the voice-over of the trailer, but it is clear a new evil lurks.
We see a whole host of new imagery showing off the characters. Who will survive the battle to come?
A final trailer was released in August 2022, giving fans another taste of what to expect. Watch below:
How many seasons of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will there be?
When Amazon acquired the rights to Lord of the Rings for a hefty sum, they made a multi-season commitment that also included a potential spin-off series.
Nonetheless, each season will still need to have formal approval to go-ahead from the Amazon execs, in the unlikely scenario that the series is an utter commercial disaster.
The company seems to have faith that won't be the case, as it has confirmed a second season already before the first season has even started filming. The series will go on hiatus for about four months before filming begins again.
Amazon Studios boss Jennifer Salke has also commented on season one's rumoured $465 million production budget, pointing out that the money is being used for world-building necessary for future seasons of the series.
“This is a full season of a huge world-building show," Salke told THR. "The number is a sexy headline or a crazy headline that’s fun to click on, but that is really building the infrastructure of what will sustain the whole series.”
Salke also added that "a giant, global audience needs to show up to it as appointment television," but it is clear that Amazon has the show's future in mind - and with that kind of investment the streamer is clearly betting on the show lasting several seasons at the very least.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power filming location
After plenty of speculation, Amazon Studios has confirmed that Middle-Earth will once again be brought to life in the environs of New Zealand, which formed the backdrop for Peter Jackson's award-winning trilogy.
In a statement, showrunners and executive producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay said: “As we searched for the location in which we could bring to life the primordial beauty of the Second Age of Middle-earth, we knew we needed to find somewhere majestic, with pristine coasts, forests, and mountains, that also is a home to world-class sets, studios, and highly skilled and experienced craftspeople and other staff.
"And we’re happy that we are now able to officially confirm New Zealand as our home for our series based on stories from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.
“We are grateful to the people and the government of New Zealand and especially Auckland for supporting us during this pre-production phase. The abundant measure of Kiwi hospitality with which they have welcomed us has already made us feel right at home, and we are looking forward to deepening our partnership in the years to come.”
Good news for Tourism New Zealand, then.
However, it seems that New Zealand will only be the production home of season one, as Amazon will be moving production to the UK for season two.
The news was announced in August 2021, with Amazon set to make use of their growing studio space and soundstages in the UK where series such as Good Omens and Anansi Boys are being filmed.
The news was met with controversy and outcry from many fans, as New Zealand has been synonymous with Lord of the Rings for 20 years now ever since the country doubled for Middle Earth in Peter Jackson's film trilogy.
However the UK may provide a more practical home given the mostly British cast who will have multi-season commitments, especially with continued uncertainty around the COVID-19 pandemic.
It will also be a homecoming of sorts, as Tolkien wrote his stories to be a mythology for England and based locations such as The Shire on the English countryside.
Filming on season 2 is expected to begin in mid-2022.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series plot
The official description with the trailer reads: "This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness.
"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. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone."
Rather than being a straight remake of the Lord of the Rings books, viewers of the TV version can expect a “more Silmarillion” show, according to Frodo Baggins star Elijah Wood.
“From what I understand, the material they are working on exists chronologically further back in history in the lore of Lord of the Rings or Middle Earth than any characters represented in Lord of the Rings,” he told IndieWire.
“It sounds more Silmarillion era. Not to get nerdy, but it’s the Second Age of Middle Earth.”
Vanity Fair notes that the series will "juggle 22 stars and multiple storylines, from deep within the dwarf mines of the Misty Mountains to the high politics of the elven kingdom of Lindon and the humans’ powerful, Atlantis-like island, Númenor."
Amazon has revealed that the series will be set during the 3,441-year period before the events of The Fellowship of the Ring. In the JRR Tolkien timeline, this is known as the Age of Númenor, or the Second Age. They have also released a synopsis for what it will be about!
"Amazon Studios’ forthcoming series brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth’s history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness. 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. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone."
This means, unfortunately, that we probably won't see many of the characters from the original series in it, as they weren't around during this time.
It's not totally clear what part of the already established Tolkien lore we'll be seeing. The rise of big bad ring-thief Sauron and the formation of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men takes place at the tail end of the Second Age, but there's a whole lot of stuff that went on before that, which could be covered instead.
It has already been confirmed that Sauron - or Annatar as he was known in The Second Age - will not feature in season one, with the apparent intention of building up anticipation for his appearance in later seasons.
However Sauron is expected to play a key role at some point in the series - as rumours claim Celebrimbor the ringmaker will also feature in the show, suggesting the series will depict the forging of the Rings of Power.
The show's writing team may decide to "chronicle the downfall of the fabled civilisation of Man that Aragorn’s bloodline was descended from" - which would explain why it was originally rumoured that Aragorn's past would play a part in the series.
The news seems to confirm, however, that very few of the characters we know and love from the original trilogy will make an appearance, as most were born in the Third Age (apart from various characters including Galadriel, Elrond and Gandalf, who were born or existed in spirit form as "Maiar" before the Second Age).
So, yep, that's about three and a half thousand years worth of speculation as to what will go down in the series... Good thing we've got another couple of years until it's released.
One perhaps surprising new development emerged in October 2020 when a casting call was put out asking for actors who were comfortable with nudity.
Coupled with the fact that the series lists an intimacy co-ordinator amongst its crew, this has led to some speculation that the series will include some sex scenes - something which may come as a surprise to fans of Tolkien's work.
However other reports have suggested that nudity will instead be sparse and not sexualised - but will instead be linked to the corruption of the elves as they slowly transform into orcs.
A rather stunning first-look image was released in August 2021, and it did not take long for fan speculation to run wild. The city closely matches the description of the city of Tirion, located on Valinor - a realm outside of Middle Earth also known as the Undying Lands, where Frodo, Bilbo and Gandalf are seen sailing towards at the end of Return of the King.
However, it is the plant life that has gotten fans most excited, as the two trees on the horizon emanating light seem suspiciously similar to the Two Trees of Valinor. However, these aren't any old shrubs - named Laurelin and Telperion, the two trees were the first source of light in the universe until the first Dark Lord Melkor and giant spider creature Ungoliant destroyed them, with their flower and fruit used to create the sun and moon.
What is most notable about the Two Trees however is that their existence predates even The First Age, suggesting that the Amazon show will feature flashbacks or a prologue set even further in the past. The robed figure may also be one of the Valar who originally shaped and ruled the world, hinting that the series may well explore the creation of Middle Earth.
Initially the series was only allowed to adapt events of the Second Age from The Lord of the Rings books and their extensive appendices, however in July 2021 it was reported that the Tolkien Estate are happy with the development of the series so far and granted the production access to certain passages of short story collections The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales.
This will be the first time ever that passages from either book have been licensed for the screen, though it is unclear if the rights were granted in time for their inclusion in season one.
It is also unknown which particular passages have been licensed for the show, though sections that reference Númenor and Rings of Power are likely as they nicely line up with stories in the appendices that Amazon already has the rights to.
Who are the creative team behind The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power ?
Amazon announced in July 2019 that Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom director JA Bayona will helm the first two episodes of the series. He will also serve as an executive producer, alongside his partner Belén Atienza.
They join Star Trek 4 writers JD Payne and Patrick McKay, who will serve as co-showrunners. On their appointment, the pair released a joint statement stating that they were "absolutely thrilled to be partnering with Amazon to bring it to life anew."
"We feel like Frodo, setting out from the Shire, with a great responsibility in our care," they added. "It is the beginning of the adventure of a lifetime.”
Game of Thrones writer and co-executive producer Bryan Cogman will also be consulting on the series. After starting out as David Benioff and DB Weiss's assistant, Cogman went on to write various episodes of the HBO fantasy drama, including season one’s 'Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things', season three’s 'Kissed by Fire' and episode two of the eighth season, 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms'.
The full LoTR creative team was later confirmed in July 2019, with Lindsey Weber (10 Cloverfield Lane), Bruce Richmond (Game of Thrones), Gene Kelly (Boardwalk Empire) and Amazon's former head of genre, Sharon Tal Yguado, all executive producing.
Writer/executive producers also include Gennifer Hutchison (Breaking Bad), Jason Cahill (The Sopranos) and Justin Doble (Stranger Things).
And the series has nabbed Star Wars: The Last Jedi's Rick Heinrichs as their production designer and Kate Hawley (Suicide Squad) to design costumes.
Also joining the creative team is Wayne Che Yip who has signed on to not just direct four episodes of the show, but to be an executive producer too. Yip is well known to genre fans for his directorial work having been involved in, amongst many other things, Doctor Who, its short-lived spin-off, Class, and Doom Patrol.
In May 2021 the latest addition to the creative team was announced to be Charlotte Brändström, who is no stranger to big-budget fantasy TV having previously directed two episodes of The Witcher.
- For the latest news and expert tips on getting the best deals this year, take a look at our Black Friday 2021 and Cyber Monday 2021 guides.
Will Peter Jackson be involved in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power ?
The Oscar-winning director has confirmed he won't be involved behind-the-scenes on the new series. Speaking with French publication Allocine, he said: “I’m not involved at all in the ‘Lord of the Rings’ series… I understand how my name could come up, but there is nothing happening with me on this project.”
What do Amazon's Middle-Earth maps mean?
The company may be keeping its cards close to its chest when it comes to actual announcements, but behind the scenes Amazon has quietly been paving the way for its landmark release.
The show's Twitter feed, established in November 2018, has since February 2019 been linking to a series of online maps of Middle-Earth.
Over the course of a number of messages, the maps have gradually been filled in – but what could it mean?
"I wisely started with a map," the messages begin, a quote from Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkien.
The messages then continue, quoting from a section of the books describing the infamous rings of power.
Here is the full text:
Three rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for mortal men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne;
In the Land of Mordor where the shadows lie.
One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them,
One ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them;
In the Land of Mordor where the shadows lie.
With each message, a further part of the map is filled in. Could this be building to a major revelation?
You can explore the map in more detail on the Amazon website here.
The Lord of the Rings TV series will be on Amazon Prime Video - try Amazon Prime Video for free for 30 days. If you’re looking for something else to watch, check out our TV Guide.
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