Three rings for the Elven-kings under the sky. And, for now, three seasons for Prime Videos The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Yes, although we all suspected that this would be the case, The Rings of Power has been officially renewed for season three, we are so glad to hear it! (At Nerdist, we’re huge fans of the show.) We may have even learned a little something about the plot. The Rings of Power season 3 will feature a time skip that will bring us into the thick of the action. From where we left things, just after the siege of Eregion, we’ll be skipping forward in time right into the heat of a new battle. The Rings of Power season 3 will see our favorite characters in the midst of The War of the Elves. What does that mean? And what do we know about the The Rings of Power season three so far? Let’s forge ahead and see!
The Rings of Power Season 3 Has Been Renewed and Shares a Logline
The official logline for The Rings of Power season 3 is as follows, “Jumping forward several years from the events of season 2, season 3 takes place at the height of the War of the Elves and Sauron, as the Dark Lord seeks to craft the One Ring that will give him the edge he needs to win the war and conquer all Middle-earth at last.“
It sounds like when we return to the newly renewed The Rings of Power, we’ll find ourselves deep in war and right on the cusp of something truly horrifying happening: the forging of the One Ring. As The Rings of Power‘s showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne revealed to us, Sauron doesn’t yet have the knowledge to forge his own Ring of Power when we leave him in season two.
They noted, “Sauron needs his expertise to forge the Rings. He cannot make them alone. It would be cheating for Sauron to all of a sudden be able to make a Ring. He’s on his own journey of craftsmanship, and without Celebrimbor, now having to make a Ring is a potentially really interesting challenge for him.” And it sounds like he’ll still be on that journey when season three of The Rings of Power returns.
The Rings of Power will Have a Time Skip Between Season 2 and Season 3
To avoid lulls in the action, The Rings of Power season 3 will move forward in time now that it has been renewed and have a pretty major time skip. But when you have Tolkien’s timelines and elves in play, that makes a lot of sense. In the real world, we can’t be waiting hundreds of years between events, or even just five. The Rings of Power’s showrunners noted to us, “Season one and two almost are one roaring train. I think the aspiration would be that there might be some big gaps in time later.” And now this has come to pass.
In The Lord of the Rings‘ world The War of the Elves and Sauron was the first great war fought in the Second Age of Middle-earth between, well, the elves and Sauron. The Númenóreans, too, have quite a significant role to play in this battle as they are the elves’ main allies, preventing Sauron’s forces from decimating them. Of course, where the Númenóreans loyalties lie (primarily to themselves with Ar-Pharazôn at the helm) could complicate matters… Especially since Sauron has Rings of Power for men that he is just itching to hand out.
Where Season 3 of The Rings of Power Could Be Heading?
With The Rings of Power safely renewed for season three and a confirmed time skip, it’s time to speculate what the season will entail. Look away if you are spoiler-phobic. We’ve always thought that Sauron would be taken to Númenór by Ar-Pharazôn at the end of season three of The Rings of Power. We know he ends up there eventually to cause the island A LOT of trouble.
But Sauron’s captivity doesn’t actually occur at the end of the War of the Elves and Sauron. The War of the Elves and Sauron actually ends with Sauron’s defeat and retreat into Mordor to recover. After that come a series of battles that then culminate in Sauron’s surrender to the forces of Númenór and Ar-Pharazôn. Arguably, this could be termed a willing surrender, for chaos purposes, but Tolkien doesn’t go into too much naunce here. That will be left up to the Prime Video’s The Rings of Power. In Tolkien’s lore, Sauron had already forged the One Ring by this time. It’ll be interesting to see if The Rings of Power season 3 knits the lore together to bring events a little closer.
More About The Rings of Power‘s Season 3: Renewal, Directors, and More
A release from Prime Video confirms that The Rings of Power has indeed been renewed for season three. It further shares that three directors will helm the upcoming season, “two returning and one new, Charlotte Brändström, Sanaa Hamri, and Stefan Schwartz will be a part of this season.” We’re so excited to see Brändström, who directed The Rings of Power season two’s most epic battle episodes back in the driver’s seat. And, of course, we are thrilled to see Sanaa Hamri return. Stefan Schwartz also has an impressive resume including The Boys (Prime Video), The Walking Dead (AMC), Luther (BBC), and The Americans (FX) and we’re sure he’ll do amazing work.
Vernon Sanders, head of television, Amazon MGM Studios shares “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power continues to captivate audiences worldwide, and we’re thrilled that a third season is underway. The creative team has an extraordinary vision of what’s to come with stories that have left us enchanted and enthralled. We look forward to continuing this epic journey, for our global customers, delving even deeper into the legendary tales that shaped Middle-earth.”