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Season 1 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Amazon Prime Video's fantasy epic based on the world created by J.R.R. Tolkien, has come to an end. Was it worth all that money? Just go on the internet to find a match to your answer, as opinions on the show range from "greatest of all time" to "greatest waste of time." But whatever your thoughts, Season 1 set up a Season 2 that we're all curious about after revealing the identity of Sauron — which you may have seen coming; the writers weren't trying to hide it — and giving more clues about who The Stranger is. 

Unfortunately, it appears that Season 2 won't be out for a while. But you still have questions, like when will The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 be released? We'll try to answer that question, and many more, including who will be in Season 2, what Season 2 will be about, and where Season 2 will be filmed.

Here's everything to know about The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 latest news

The Season 1 finale came and went without any more news of a Season 2 premiere date, but it did reveal Sauron's identity and gave fans more hints about who The Stranger is (he's a wizard!). Showrunners Patrick McKay and J. D. Payne also gave a little more info on Sauron's journey in Season 2, comparing his arc to those of popular TV antiheroes Tony Soprano of The Sopranos and Walter White of Breaking Bad. See their full quote below in the section "What's coming in The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2."

More on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power:

• Sauron Actor Breaks Down the Big Reveal in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Finale
• Morfydd Clark on Sauron's Identity, and How Galadriel Never Saw It Coming
• 7 Shows Like The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power to Watch While You Wait for Season 2

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 release date

The good news: The Rings of Power Season 2 is coming. The bad news: There's currently no premiere date set and it might be a long, long time until we get Season 2. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter in October 2022, co-showrunner Patrick McKay said that he expects to be working on Season 2 for "another couple years," which means an optimistic guess on when The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 will hit Prime Video based on McKay's own words is the second half of 2024. However, McKay and his co-showrunner J. D. Payne also admitted that with the experience gained from Season 1 being under their belts, production on episodes in Season 2 is going faster and more smoothly, which could bump up that time frame a bit.

If you're looking for some historical context to guess when Season 2 will premiere, here's what we know about how Season 1 came to be. Shooting Season 1 was an incredibly long task, beginning in February of 2020 in New Zealand and taking 18 months due to the massive production and COVID delays. Season 1 filming was completed in early August of 2021. Filming of Season 2 began on Oct. 3, 2022, in the production's new home of the United Kingdom. But Season 2 is expected to be bigger, so even though production might be smoother, the scope of each episode is presumably larger, adding to the production time. COVID restrictions have also loosened, so it's unclear how McKay's estimate of a couple more years fits in. I guess it's better to establish a longer release window and beat expectations than promise sooner and disappoint fans when there's a delay.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 renewal

Amazon acquired the rights to make a Lord of the Rings television show on Nov. 13, 2017 for a reported $250 million, though showrunners Patrick McKay and J. D. Payne later clarified to The Hollywood Reporter that it was "tens of millions" less, and the quarter billion-dollar offer was Netflix's failed bid. Prime Video set a multi-season goal for the series, and officially ordered a second season in November of 2020. 

McKay and Payne have stated that they have a five-season run planned out and even know what the final shot of the series is, though Amazon has not officially ordered a third season, let alone Seasons 4 and 5. 

How many episodes will The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 be?

Season 1 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power consisted of eight hour-plus episodes. Season 2 isn't changing things up and will also run for eight episodes. 

What's coming in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2?

There are very few details on The Rings of Power Season 2, but the showrunners have shared a few ideas. McKay and Payne are touting Season 2 as being "bigger and better" on "every level... by an order of magnitude." All showrunners double as salesmen, so touting a bigger season isn't a surprise, but color us intrigued by the promise of the new season being better by an order of magnitude. It could be a simple sales pitch, but it can also be the pair looking at what they did in Season 1 and realizing that they must up their game. Case in point, The Hollywood Reporter's big pre-Season 1 finale Rings of Power cover story says Season 2 will feature "more iconic locations," "familiar Middle-earth characters," and, most interestingly, "a massive two-episode battle." Yes!

Following the Season 1 finale, Morfydd Clark spoke to TV Guide and told us when Galadriel finally wised up to Halbrand's true identity, and how Galadriel felt totally blindsided by the reveal that he was Sauron. McKay and Payne explained to The Hollywood Reporter that much of Season 2 will focus on Sauron's development as an antihero. "Sauron can now just be Sauron," McKay said. "Like Tony Soprano or Walter White. He's evil, but complexly evil. We felt like if we did that in Season 1, he'd overshadow everything else. So the first season is like Batman Begins, and The Dark Knight is the next movie, with Sauron maneuvering out in the open. We're really excited. Season 2 has a canonical story. There may well be viewers who are like, 'This is the story we were hoping to get in Season 1!' In Season 2, we're giving it to them."

Where is The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 filmed?

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 1 was famously filmed in New Zealand, which was also the picturesque backdrop for Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings films. However, Season 2 of The Rings of Power is changing things up. 

Season 2 is moving production to the U.K., and started filming on Oct. 3, 2022 just outside of London at Bray Studios in Berkshire. Reasons given for the location change include cheaper costs, easier access to more diverse locations throughout Europe, and the Tolkien estate expressing the U.K.'s influence on Tolkien's writing. 

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 cast

It's a good bet that everyone who survived Season 1 will return for Season 2, where it makes sense.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power main cast

• Morfydd Clark as Galadriel
• Markella Kavenagh as Nori Brandyfoot
• Robert Aramayo as Elrond
• Benjamin Walker as Gil-galad
• Charles Edwards as Celebrimbor
• Daniel Weyman as The Stranger
• Owain Arthur as Durin IV
• Charles Vickers as Halbrand/Sauron
• Sophia Nomvete as Disa
• Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Míriel

As for new characters coming in Season 2, we don't know much, but we do know that one well-known character from the Tolkien universe will be making an appearance: Círdan the Shipwright. Before Season 1 even premiered, Payne confirmed to Time that he was excited for fans to meet their version of Círdan in Season 2. Fans of the books will remember that Círdan is the oldest living elf, so old that he is the only known elf to have a beard. Círdan hasn't been cast yet; he appeared briefly in the first and third movies, and was portrayed by Michael Elsworth.

Check out our character guide for the main Season 1 characters in the series. 

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Character Guide

More shows like The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Now that you've seen Season 1, what do you watch next? Our list features fantasy epics for the whole family (or just the adults) on several streaming services, including Netflix, Prime Video, and HBO Max. Here are 7 shows like The Rings of Power. 

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 1 review

Our pre-air review of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power from Keith Phipps was a positive one, with special kudos to the show's visuals and the approach that paid homage to both the books and Peter Jackson's films. The big knock on it? It took a while to get things going. Here's Keith Phipps's review of the early Season 1 episodes.

Where to watch The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 1 is currently on Amazon Prime Video.

Where to watch The Lord of the Rings films

All three of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings films — The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King — are currently streaming on HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video. HBO Max also has the extended versions of each film, in case three hours isn't enough for you.

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