In 2022, two different fantasy series went head-to-head, with HBO’s House of the Dragon and Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power debuting within weeks of each other. This summer, the two shows will have some distance: Dragon premieres in June, while Prime Video has revealed the August release date for the Season 2 return of its lavish prequel series, along with a teaser spotlighting how evil has found new purchase in Middle-Earth.
The Rings of Power is based not on J.R.R. Tolkien’s original trilogy of books, but on ancillary writings by the legendary writer (it’s complicated). Here’s the official description for Season 2, courtesy of Amazon:
In Season 2 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… 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.
The new teaser trailer hints at as much, while also featuring so many rings (fitting, given that the word “rings” appears twice just in the title). The returning cast for Season 2 includes Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Maxim Baldry, Daniel Weyman, Benjamin Walker, Nazanin Boniadi, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, and Charlie Vickers as Sauron. In addition, actors including Ben Daniels, Ciarán Hinds, and Rory Kinnear have been added to the cast in undisclosed roles.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 debuts Thursday, August 29th on Prime Video. Check out the first teaser trailer below, and revisit our conversations with the cast of Season 1 about the vast scope of the series.