The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power showrunners have confirmed a major event in JRR Tolkien’s Middle-earth lore will be depicted in the third season – and it’s bad news for the realm’s heroes.
Set thousands of years before the unexpected journey of Bilbo Baggins, the mega-budget fantasy drama follows Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and others at a time when Sauron’s sinister influence is gradually building.
The operative word is ‘gradually’, with the pacing of The Rings of Power seasons 1 and 2 being a common criticism of the show, but the upcoming third entry shifts into a “darker, more dangerous” era that rewards the patience shown by viewers.
In a new interview with Empire, co-showrunner Patrick McKay revealed: “This is the season where Sauron makes the One Ring in the volcano… No one is safe.”
Charlie Vickers (The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart) reprises his role as the legendary villain, whose identity was kept secret from viewers for most of season 1.
Rings of Power’s evolution to having a “full-on villain” is something that “changes the tone of the show,” in the words of co-showrunner JD Payne.
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For Vickers, it’s been an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The actor opened up to Empire: “The first day I walked onto that set, I cried. What an amazing privilege and honour to be able to tell that story.”
It should come as no surprise that The Rings of Power bosses McKay and Payne want the forging of the One Ring to be a memorable sequence that fittingly honours its pivotal role in Tolkien’s epic saga.
McKay describes it as “the single most ambitious, technically challenging sequence we’ve ever done on the show” and hailed Vickers’s performance as “staggering”.
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It had previously been reported that The Rings of Power would see a time-jump in its third season, bringing it closer to the original novels in period and style – which might help it resonate with a larger audience, too.
Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur and Ismael Cruz Córdova also reprise their roles, alongside Clark, in the next chapter.
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Authors
David Craig is the Senior Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest and greatest scripted drama and comedy across television and streaming. Previously, he worked at Starburst Magazine, presented The Winter King Podcast for ITVX and studied Journalism at the University of Sheffield.
