New season Rings of Power: Prime Video’s ambitious return to Middle-earth draws closer, building on Tolkien’s famed legendarium as an expansive prequel to The Lord of the Rings. Ahead of a winter 2024 premiere, a long-awaited trailer arrives, hinting at tone, alliances, and the fates of beloved and feared figures. This second season promises a broader scope, with a fresh look at the world and its people as the saga pressurizes into new conflicts.
The first season set a high bar, becoming one of Amazon’s most-watched original series. Viewers spent more than 32 billion minutes with the series and logged millions of unique viewings, driving it into the top tier of Nielsen’s streaming rankings during the initial run. The momentum underscores the show’s broad appeal across North America and beyond, reinforcing Amazon’s commitment to cinematic scale on television screens.
For season two, the creative team expands. JD Payne and Patrick McKay return as showrunners, joined by executive producers Lindsey Weber, Callum Greene, Justin Doble, Jason Cahill, and Jennifer Hutchison. They collaborate with the co-producer and director Charlotte Brandström, and producers Kate Hazell and Helen Shang alongside co-producers Clare Buxton, Andrew Lee, Glenise Mullins, and Matthew Penry-Davey. New directors entering the fold include Sanaa Hamri and Louise Hooper. The season’s eight-episode arc continues to explore the series’ core themes while welcoming new voices to the production.
Prime Video announced that season two would premiere in multiple languages across more than 240 countries and territories on August 29, 2024. A poster released alongside the news highlights the return of the series’ enigmatic villain Sauron, recast here as a formidable anti-hero whose evolving form remains a key focal point for the story’s deception and power dynamics in Middle-earth.
Sauron returns in the second season of Rings of Power. Unmasked and solitary, the Dark Lord leans on cunning and intellect to steer the creation of the rings of power, aiming to reshape Middle-earth and subjugate its diverse peoples.
The first trailer for season two is concise, yet it lays out several narrative threads: the arrival of new faces, sweeping mythic drama, and awe-inspiring landscapes, all crafted to recreate Middle‑Earth with meticulous fidelity for the audience. The production emphasizes authentic locations, practical effects, and a visual language true to Tolkien’s world while expanding its scale for a modern streaming audience.
New Sauron
The trailer opens with a silhouette against a volcanic landscape, setting the stage for a direct throughline from season one’s finale, where a revealed identity propels Sauron toward Mount Doom in Mordor. Viewers recall the season one finale’s ominous return of the dark lord, the spread of orcs across Middle-earth, and Galadriel’s measured, perceptive vigilance as Morfydd Clark and Elrond, portrayed by Robert Aramayo, face growing peril.
In season two, Sauron reappears with shapeshifting prowess, appearing briefly as an elf: blonde hair, regal attire, and a dark, scaled tunic with a gilded belt. Portrayed by Charlie Vickers, Sauron moves through a city in chaos, his smile masking hidden plans. This darker, more calculating version of the character is tied to Celebrimbor, played by Charles Edwards, and to the forging of the first rings of power. A confrontation with a line of guards ends in a display of devastating power, hinting at awakening threats that ripple across the realm of the forges and fortresses of the elves.
Galadriel returns to the fray
Galadriel dominates the trailer as a continuous cinematic throughline. Her heroism remains central, now paired with a sharpened weaponry arsenal: swords, bows, and arrows. The elf leads a charge toward a hilltop city, urging allies forward with a resolute cry as her companions rally behind her in a shadow-dappled forest—likely Mirkwood—where a frightening omen looms in the distance.
Armored Elrond
Elrond, the cautious ally of both elves and dwarves, is shown in a moment of regality and power: helmet on, armor gleaming, he charges with an army at his back. This glimpse signals a rise in status for Elrond as he navigates the complex politics and battles of a fractured Middle-earth. The sequence may foreshadow a pivotal moment when the first three rings begin to fall into the worthy hands of key figures such as Galadriel, Gil-galad, and Elrond himself.
The role of dwarves
The trailer also revisits the dwarven faction, highlighting Disa and Durin IV as they reach for one of their blue sapphire rings of power. A stark consequence of the looming crisis is hinted at in Khazad-dûm, where the ancient king is seen trapped beneath collapsing rock. Durin’s weary warning—“an ancient and powerful demon has returned”—cements the gravity of the threat facing all races of Middle-earth.
King Gil-galad
The elf king’s golden presence punctuates the trailer, radiating magic as he confronts a malevolent, insidious force threatening the land. Gold stains the leaves of Lindon, underlining a world where beauty and danger collide. The voice work underscores a shared dread, with lines that speak to a creeping menace: “Middle-earth is in danger,” and “The soul of everyone is at stake.” A final line from Galadriel, affirming Sauron’s return, seals the trailer’s ominous promise.
Reunion of characters
Isildur, played by Maxim Baldry, reappears alongside Arondir as they confront new threats. The footage shows Isildur’s agility and resolve as he guards his people, while Arondir faces perilous moments with his usual steadfast courage. The trailer reunites core figures from the first season, hinting at personal arcs colliding with a broader crisis.
The broader cast returns, and the mystery figure who rose from the sky at the start of the series is teased as a power in play rather than a simple villain. This new season promises a dramatic reawakening of ancient powers, with the ominous staff-stab sequence signaling a resurgent force ready to test Middle-earth’s defenses.
New looks
Among the newcomers are actors stepping into key roles as the plot thickens. One newcomer appears to listen intently when Durin discusses looming evil, while another character, an elderly figure seen mounted on a massive eagle, is likely poised to represent a legendary wizard or Istar such as Radagast or a Blue Wizard. This infusion of familiar mythic archetypes signals a broader, more colorful tapestry for Tolkien’s world as it unfolds in the Second Age.