The Rings Of Power Season 2 Is Probably A Couple Years Away

"The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" has had a long journey to the conclusion of its first season. The unexpected party started when news broke way back in November of 2017 that Amazon had acquired the rights (for an ungodly $250 million price tag) to make a then-unknown Middle-earth adaptation. The project quietly got underway with little-to-no information about what was happening. Then the pandemic started, and everything went dark. Years went by as fans anxiously awaited the unknown release of the next installment of Tolkien's famous fantasy world.

Finally, in early August of 2021, news broke that the show would be premiering a comparatively short 13 months in the future. The following year dragged by as an interesting (and at times confusing) promotional campaign rolled out, taking place with fits and starts throughout the spring and summer of 2022. Finally, the first two episodes premiered in early September, followed by weekly installments of the rest of the eight-episode first season. When that experience wrapped up in mid-October, it left many wondering what was next for the purported five-season Second Age Middle-earth adventure.

A few hints had already floated to the surface here and there, indicating that things were going on behind the scenes. A year before the premiere, news had dropped that the show was parting ways with its iconic New Zealand setting (where the first season was filmed) and heading clear across the world to film the majority of season 2 in the U.K. As the first season was airing, it was announced that Season 2 was already in production, as well. This all seemed to be trending in the right direction as far as a short wait time between seasons — and then the bombshell hit.

In a mid-season 1 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay talked about the past, present, and future of the flagship Prime Video IP. At one point, the discussion touched on the timeline for Season 2, with McKay noting that they expect to be working on the next season for "another couple of years."

The news is bitterly disappointing to fans who are hyped up from the first cinematic foray into Middle-earth since Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy finished airing nearly a decade ago. However, considering the circumstances, things could be worse. For one thing, putting things in perspective, the nearly five-year production schedule of the first season has been more than cut in half. Most of that change is likely due to the absence of major pandemic delays. And yet, the truth is, the film industry may be reviving in the wake of the global health crisis, but it's nowhere near out of the woods yet. There are still consistent reports of delays and backlogs in the film creation process as the industry attempts to decongest and get back on track from multiple years of restrictions and limitations. In addition, the need to move "The Rings of Power" set clear across the world clearly took a herculean effort. Hopefully, once the crew is re-settled, filming can proceed quicker in the future (assuming they don't change things up yet again before Season 3).

Regardless of the reasons, there's no doubt that a two-year delay between seasons is a long time to wait for more Middle-earth content. The challenge now is for the show's new fanbase to stay patient as they wait to see where the open-ended finale of Season 1 takes them next.