The Rings of Power Showrunners Sign Exclusive Amazon MGM Studios Deal, Setting Up Season 3

In a press release today it was announced that The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power showrunners Patrick McKay and JD Payne have signed a an exclusive overall deal with Amazon MGM Studios. This new deal will include exclusivity on TV rights and is set to last three years. Buried in the release however of the news was confirmation that McKay and Payne's work on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power continues in a big way, including confirmation that season two of The Rings of Power "is expected to debut later this year" but also that "the showrunners have started to break the initial story outline" for The Rings of Power season 3. The press release also notes that when production eventually begins on The Rings of Power season 3, the series will shift production hubs once again and move from Bray Studios to a brand new production facility at nearby Shepperton Studios in the UK.

"We began this remarkable journey with JD and Patrick more than five and a half years ago and have never looked back," said Vernon Sanders, head of television, Amazon MGM Studios. "We continue to be amazed by the scope and scale of their vision and the enormous global success achieved by The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power in its record-breaking first season. We can't wait for Prime Video customers to experience the epic adventure and high-stakes drama that JD and Patrick are continuing to build throughout season two and beyond. Naturally, the studio is thrilled to extend our overall deal with these brilliant creative minds as they continue to deliver on their passion for great storytelling."  

The Emmy-nominated Prime Video series, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premiered its first season in the fall of 2022 breaking all Prime Video records, making it the most-watched Amazon Original in every region of the world as well as debuting at #1 on the Nielson streaming chart and remaining in the Top 4 through every week of its initial run.

When does Rings of Power take place?

The events shown in the first season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and beyond are all set in "Second Age" of Middle-earth's timeline. As of the end of season one, the events seen, including the creation of the titular Rings of Power, is still about 2,000 years before the defeat of Sauron at the hands of Isildur. Those events are seen in the opening minutes of the first Lord of the Rings movie and mark the ending of the Second Age. 

As for how this relates to the events of The Lord of the Rings, all of that takes place in the Third Age, but the One Ring itself was lost for over 2,000 years before it made its way to Gollum and then Bilbo Baggins. One thing that has been clear about The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power however is that the showrunners have revealed they're okay with remixing things and moving the timeline up and down on major events. In short, what we see in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power takes place thousands of years before the events of The Lord of the Rings proper. 

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power cast

Season 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will see a few new faces join the cast, including Gabriel Akuwudike (Hanna), Yasen 'Zates' Atour (The Witcher), Ben Daniels (The Crown, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story), Amelia Kenworthy, Nia Towle (Persuasion), Nicholas Woodeson (Paddington 2), Oliver Alvin-Wilson (Wonder Woman 1984), Stuart Bowman (Bodyguard), Gavi Singh Chera (The Lazarus Project), William Chubb (The Sandman), Kevin Eldon (Game of Thrones), Will Keen (My Lady Jane), Selina Lo (Hellraiser), and Calam Lynch (Bridgerton). The series has also recast a major role with Orc leader Adar set to be played by Sam Hazeldine in Season 2, Joseph Mawle previously filled the role in season 1.

Amazon Prime Video previously touted the success of the first season of the show, claiming it was viewed by more than 100 million people worldwide, with more than 24 billion minutes streamed and 25 million global viewers on its first day. These impressive numbers continued to be spread by the streamer, but other reports have since cast doubt on the show's popularity.