The Rings of Power is Amazon's fabulously expensive Lord of the Rings prequel series, set during the Second Age of Middle-earth. The second season concluded in October of last year, and it was February before we found out that Amazon was renewing the show for season 3. That was a long time to wait, which already put season 3 on the backfoot; don't expect to be watching new episodes anytime soon.
That said, things are moving along. Speaking to Gold Derby just the other week, director Charlotte Brändström said that she was working on the show "right now":
"I've actually been shooting all day, I've been up since 5...I'm in London right now. I'm working on it right now."
Speculation was always that shooting on season 3 would begin sometime this spring, but this is the first official confirmation we've had that cameras are indeed rolling. I still wouldn't expect new episodes to drop until sometime in 2026 (and maybe even in 2027), but at least things are happening.
"I think [season 3 is] going to be a really good season."
The Rings of Power is loosely based on the appendices to J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, although many, MANY liberties are taken. Sauron is on his way to becoming the new dark lord; that part is more or less accurate, but the quasi-romance/rivalry with Galadriel is new. We visit the dwarves in Khazad-dûm, which is the most consistently entertaining part of the show. We also visit the hubristic humans on the island of Númenor, which is the part that most consistently inspires viewers to check how much time is left in the episode. Finally, we get to know a few proto-hobbits and follow the adventures of a young(er) Gandalf, who is not part of these events in Tolkien's mythology but is a big part of the show.
We'll follow up on all of that in the third season. For now, Charlotte Brändström may end up getting an Emmy nomination for directing the season 2 finale, "Shadow and Flame"; that's what she was talking to Gold Derby about. "Among the episodes that I directed, it was the one that was the most diverse," she said. "It was the most big-scale and cinematic. It had big scenes, and it also had very intimate character moments. That always drives the series. Whatever scale you're working on, it's always the characters that take over at some point."
"Shadow and Flame" is among the best episodes of the series and Brändström is one of its most prolific directors; she had a hand in directing five of the eight episodes in season 2. She also has good taste in characters: "I love Disa because she believes in tradition," she said, referring to the wife of Dwarven leader Durin. "But at the same time, she's never afraid of renewing herself, which is how I see life."
We wish Brändström the best at the Emmys. Meanwhile, she teased what she could about season 3, which isn't much. "I think it's just going deeper, deeper into the drama and the characters," she said. "I can't say much except that that I think it's going to be a really good season."
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