We just got a quick but action-packed look at Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power Season 2, as well as a release date: Thursday, August 29, 2024.
It's not too much of a surprise to see that the trailer focuses on the looming threat that is J.R.R. Tolkien's legendary villain Sauron as he casts a shadow over Middle-earth's Second Age. The trailer opens on his (Charlie Vickers) face as we hear the booming voice of Durin IV (Owain Arthur), who warns, "an evil, ancient and powerful, has returned."
Darkness will bind them. The Rings Of Power returns August 29 on @PrimeVideo.
— The Lord of the Rings on Prime (@TheRingsofPower) May 14, 2024
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We then see Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and a number of other fighters, including Elrond (Robert Aramayo), gearing up to fight. Meanwhile, a voiceover talks about Sauron's tricky powers of manipulation, as worries emerge that Sauron has been among them the whole time. The trailer and key art goes on to reveal a new form Sauron takes this season as well - still portrayed by Vickers, but this time as an elf with long blonde hair.
A number of epic action sequences follow, as well as a first look at the much-anticipated creation of more Rings. In addition to the trailer and key art, Prime Video released an official synopsis today, which you can read below:
In Season Two of The Rings of Power, Sauron has returned. Cast out by Galadriel, without army or ally, the rising Dark Lord must now rely on his own cunning to rebuild his strength and oversee the creation of the Rings of Power, which will allow him to bind all the peoples of Middle-earth to his sinister will. Building on Season One’s epic scope and ambition, the new season plunges even its most beloved and vulnerable characters into a rising tide of darkness, challenging each to find their place in a world that is increasingly on the brink of calamity. Elves and dwarves, orcs and men, wizards and Harfoots… as friendships are strained and kingdoms begin to fracture, the forces of good will struggle ever more valiantly to hold on to what matters to them most of all… each other.
Prime Video reiterated previous comments in its press release today that Rings of Power has been a massive success for the Amazon streaming platform, being viewed by more than 100 million people worldwide as one of its top original series. We learned back in March that early work was already being done on Season 3 as showrunners Patrick McKay and JD Payne signed a new three-year deal with Amazon.
It's a promising sign for what was no doubt a huge gamble for Prime Video, with the budget for its first season set at a jaw-dropping $465 million. Amazon's reportedly committed to a five-season plan for the TV series, even as other Lord of the Rings projects, like a Gollum-focused film from Andy Serkis, crop up.
When Season 2 debuts on August 29, it'll launch in more than 240 countries and territories in multiple languages, Prime Video said today. The streaming platform didn't reveal any details on its release schedule, but Season 1 dropped episodes weekly on Fridays after a two-episode premiere.
IGN gave the first season of Rings of Power an 8/10, writing that it "largely succeeds by staying faithful to J. R. R. Tolkien’s themes and tone, if not all the specifics of his canon."
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
