Rings Of Power Season 3 Is Officially Rebooting The Lord Of The Rings Series

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 is taking the show in a new direction.

When the new season begins, there will be a five-year time jump after The Rings of Power season 2 finale. War has overtaken Middle-earth as the armies of Sauron (Charlie Vickers) have conquered a significant portion of the land, and the villain is on the brink of only becoming more powerful as he works on forging the One Ring. The remaining Dwarves, Elves, Men, and Wizards are all that stand in the way of Middle-earth sinking into complete darkness.

In an interview with IGN, showrunner Patrick McKay explained that the decision to have a time jump and place viewers directly into the action was because “we really love the idea of throwing the viewer in a way that is a completely fresh start. J.D. Payne, my co-showrunner and I, we’re huge admirers of shows that have done this kind of [time jump] before, like Battlestar Galactica and Halt and Catch Fire. That can be really fun for a viewer.”

McKay further explained that this is designed to make season 3 essentially a soft reboot that is fully accessible for new viewers: “Hopefully, this season is a great jumping-on point for fans. And it truly starts with people talking about the One Ring . . . our goal for Season 3 is really to blow the doors off the hinges. We’re really proud of Seasons One and Two, but . . . for us, now, in some ways, we’re starting a whole new story. This is turning the page on the show.”

With an 84% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, Rings of Power reviews from critics have generally been positive. Given the 48% audience score, though, viewers have been more divided on the series, including criticisms of slow pacing and too many divergences from J.R.R. Tolkien’s lore. Providing a fresh entry point that puts viewers right into the action may help to address some of the issues that audiences have had with prior seasons, along with further growing the show’s reach after already receiving over 185 million viewers worldwide.

While this is a soft reboot of sorts, it is still a continuation of the characters and storylines that have come before. Along with Sauron, also returning this season are Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), Elrond (Robert Aramayo), Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker), Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova), Gandalf (Daniel Weyman), Durin IV (Owain Arthur), Disa (Sophia Nomvete), Elendil (Lloyd Owen), Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle), Isildur (Maxim Baldry), and the Dark Wizard (Ciarán Hinds).

The ongoing story of Elendil, Míriel, and Pharazôn means that the conflict in the island kingdom of Númenor will have advanced alongside what is happening in Middle-earth, in addition to what is happening with Gandalf and the Dark Wizard in Middle-earth’s far-eastern region of Rhûn.

As for new characters, they include Galadriel’s husband Celeborn (Jamie Campbell Bower) making his series debut, along with an Orc called Marnûkh (Adam Young), who has defected from Sauron’s army and says he wants to help the Elves in their fight. While Celeborn is a well-known character from Tolkien’s writings, Marnûkh is a brand-new creation, and another way in which The Rings of Power season 3 is taking things in a different direction.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 comes ahead of The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum, the franchise’s first live-action film since The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies in 2014. The Hunt for Gollum releases in theaters on December 17, 2027, giving the Prime Video series plenty of time to have the franchise spotlight with its action-packed soft reboot before the movie’s marketing ramps up next year.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 begins with a four-episode premiere on Prime Video on November 11.

Release Date

September 1, 2022

Network

Amazon Prime Video

Showrunner

John D. Payne, Patrick McKay, Louise Hooper, Charlotte Brändström, Wayne Yip

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