Some may know that Adar was my favorite character on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season one. So I experienced a bit of a bittersweet moment when I learned that The Rings of Power season two had recast the character of Adar, with Sam Hazeldine replacing Joseph Mawle. On the one hand, I loved The Rings of Power‘s original Adar so much, but on the other hand, season two will bring a whole new Adar to enjoy. Perhaps the orcs/Uruk can fondly refer to Hazeldine’s version of Adar as Lord Step-Father. Happily, The Rings of Power didn’t keep me and other Adar fans waiting very long to find out what recast Adar will look like. In the first trailer for The Rings of Power season two, we see an unquestionable glimpse of Sam Hazeldine’s version of Adar, the long-suffering father of the Uruk.
As I wrote previously, the beauty of Adar’s character in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season one was his tragic inability to quite fit in on the side of good or evil. Hopefully, though Adar has been recast in The Rings of Power season two, Sam Hazeldine will understand the delicate balance of the character. And with any luck, we will continue to see Adar do evil things for aims that might seem noble with a different polish. Every show needs a good anti-hero, after all. Happily, The Rings of Power season two’s Adar still seems to have that balance of elf and orc in his appearance, hinting at the duality of his character. So we’re crossing our fingers this recast brings only more depth to Adar’s character in s season two.
When we last saw Adar on The Rings of Power before the recast, he was celebrating his victory in creating a home for his children. (Read: Blowing up Mount Doom and creating Mordor.) Unfortunately, Sauron, whom Adar believed he had slain, was on a collision course to the very same place. And something tells us Sauron probably does not feel very kindly toward Adar when The Rings of Power‘s second season begins. What will season two of The Rings of Power bring for Sam Hazeldine’s recast Adar and Charlie Vickers’ newly unleashed Sauron? Hopefully not death for the former!
The Rings of Power season two and our new Adar will reveal themselves on August 29. You can also watch Joseph Mawle’s turn as Adar in The Rings of Power season one on Prime Video.