The Rings Of Power Season 2 Cast Reveal Secrets, Strangers & Sauron's Next Steps - Exclusive Interview

Amazon Studios started production of "The Rings of Power" Season 2 back in October 2022 — before Season 1 had even finished. Since then, the show has moved from New Zealand to the U.K., onboarded a batch of new faces, dodged the WGA strike, and even laid the foundation for future seasons.

On August 29, 2024, the long-awaited second part of showrunners J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay's story officially hit the airwaves with a three-episode premiere. We sat down with several members of the cast and crew in the lead-up to that event to talk about Season 2.

Below are four interviews with nine cast members as well as a fifth interview with McKay and executive producer Lindsey Weber. In the sprawling conversation, we explore everything from moving the show halfway across the world to the potential involvement of the Elf-lord Glorfindel to the intricacies of making the show's titular jewelry.

First, we had the privilege of talking to the dynamite combo of Charlie Vickers and Charles Edwards. Vickers played Halbrand in Season 1 — a character who was revealed in its fading moments to be none other than Sauron in disguise. In Season 2, he will lean into the Dark Lord persona in new, exciting, and disturbing ways.

Edwards plays the Elven master craftsman Celebrimbor, who forged the Three Elven Rings at the end of Season 1 (even though that did technically change the Tolkien timeline). Celebrimbor will explore his new artisanal discovery in the coming season — even if the consequences are dire.

Here is our conversation with the two actors as they share about characters in greater depth and reveal what it takes to make a bonafide Ring of Power.

Charlie, you have a growing reputation for knowing Tolkien's source material pretty well. We see Sauron doing a lot of things for a lot of different reasons this season. Between the books and your own character you've developed, could you give us the elevator pitch for what you think his primary motivation is during the second age? What's driving him to do what he's doing?

Charlie Vickers: Yeah. Tolkien wrote of him wanting to heal, reorder, and rehabilitate Middle-earth. And I think I really like reorder and rehabilitate because I think they're quite specific words, and knowing Tolkien wrote them, it gives me something really specific to tap into. This order and this control of everyone else, and in that is the purpose of the rings. And it's the purpose of the rings for dwarves and the rings for men, and that's really the sole driver for him of the season and which makes Celebrimbor as a tool that is used. Reorder.

That's great. That's great. Charles, you had to come into production late for Season 1. What was it like being able to prepare more thoroughly for your role this time around?

Charles Edwards: Oh, it was great. I mean, I had time to prepare last time. It's just there wasn't nearly as much of it as there is this time. And there's much more meat because this is the story that Celebrimbor ... This is the story. And it's also the title story for the show. So we had plenty of time. We've always got plenty of time on this show. It's very rare to say that. Sometimes there isn't plenty of time at late night it's pouring with rain and we've got to get a shot.

However, in terms of prep and research, there's plenty of time. And we had plenty of time on set to allow this relationship to decant and develop and explore. So my prep was as thorough as it could be. It always is. And you read what little Tolkien wrote about this and you relish the opportunity to be entrusted with this particular story. And also I'm thankful that you are the one who's been chosen to try and bring it to life.

Tolkien doesn't give us a ton of details on the ring-making process itself. So what have you learned or discovered or had to fill in, even, about that mysterious activity to bring it to life on the screen?

Edwards: I think the first thing I'd say about that is that a show like this, if you give this thing a recipe then you're in trouble, it's got to stay magic.

Love that.

Edwards: It's got to stay elusive.

Vickers: Yeah.

Edwards: I mean, in terms of the physicality of the ring-making, we saw in Season 1, his fantastic machine, which I loved.

Vickers: Yeah.

Edwards: We see that on a grander scale. That's obviously the method that he has selected as being the best one. So we see more of that. However, in terms of a pinch of this and a pinch of that, we stay away from that because that way disappointment lies.

Very wise.

Vickers: I think the one bit of light we can shed on it, or I can shed on it, is that there is progressively more Sauron in each of the rings and that makes them progressively more corrupted. That's as far as we went in terms of technical jargon.

Edwards: A little more Sauron in this one I think.

That's the ingredient that you got to worry about, right? Charles, no spoilers, but let's just say Celebrimbor is a passionate and tragic character, especially at this point in the narrative as you were relating to earlier. What has it been like bringing that deeper complex story to the screen this season?

Edwards: So rewarding, and I'm going to become tiresome by saying how much we enjoyed shooting this story, but it's true. It was one of the happiest times I've had on a set for a long, long time. Primarily because of Charlie, and coming in every day. It's just the two of us telling this story. And as you say, to deepen it and to flesh it out in such brilliant ways, the writers have come up with all kinds of really clever little things here and there just to wrong-foot Celebrimbor too. There are some really great coups of theatrical effects along the way.

Vickers: Yeah, there are some wonderful aha moments, moments throughout the season [where] you are just like, "Oh, s***."

Benjamin Walker plays the Elven high-king Gil-galad. He is technically in charge of a huge realm of elves in Middle-earth, although in the show, his regal control isn't as strong as one might hope (more on that in a minute). Ismael Cruz Córdova represents the opposite end of elven culture as he portrays the non-royal elf Arondir, who is experiencing loss and pain as the season starts.

Here is our conversation with these two elven actors.

Benjamin, Gil-galad starts Season 2 still struggling to get a headstrong Galadriel under control. And then Elrond goes AWOL too, and he recruits Cirdan to help him. Sauron is actively plotting against Lindon. Do you think Gil-galad has any real input in the course of Middle-earth events at this point in the story? Or is he just along for the ride?

Ismael Cruz Córdova: Oh, jeez. Wow.

Benjamin Walker: Can he control anything?

Well, knowing where he ends up, which is spoiler territory, so I will not clarify ...

Walker: Well, that's interesting. I think everybody's a bit out of control, frankly. And I think that as a fan myself, I find that really interesting. To see characters that are seemingly so in control be caught on the back foot, that's the perfect time to start a season of television. And it gives them the opportunity to reveal new aspects of them that maybe you know if you are fans of the lore, but even for fans, you've never seen what happens when the omniscient make mistakes. And I think that is more of an illustration of the power of the evil that we're facing and where we're headed. That, if you know Gil-galad's trajectory, you know how far we have to go. He can't be infallible from the beginning.

Yeah.

Walker: And where I appreciate the question, I really don't appreciate the characterization. He knows what he's doing. Kind of.

No, that's a great answer. That's a great answer.

Ismael, in the past, you've referenced that Arondir is a non-royal elf, which is fairly unique for a main character in Middle-earth. I believe you said he was an outsider. He's been denied, abandoned, made voiceless, and you referred to him as a frontline soldier and an elf from the bunch.

Córdova: Yeah, all of that.

The point is: he doesn't have the same unavoidable narrative destiny as most of Tolkien's elven characters. So what was it like exploring this less well-known corner of Tolkien's world in Season 2?

Córdova: It's beautiful. It's beautiful. Because he directly challenges the elves that we know. His existence directly challenges everything that the high elves speak of and sit on in terms of knowledge and wisdom and getting things right. And as we see, infallibility is something that we're exploring, and we see directly how it's affecting other people.

And he's the one that has to figure a lot of things out. He has not gotten his flowers, really, because even in Season 1, he essentially saves the day with the Southlanders, and then Galadriel shows up. She's like, "I'm going to take this now." But it's a wonderful, wonderful character to show all of those blind spots and all of the conflict. That for me, I think, Mr. Tolkien being alive today would've really loved that. He's like, "They got it. They got what I was talking about."

Walker: Yeah, you're elevating, and we are crumbling. Everybody is being subverted in some way. I mean, what's more Tolkienian than that?

Patrick McKay is one of the showrunners for "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power." Along with his co-conspirator, J. D. Payne, he mapped out the original five-season story for the show — a vision that, in large part, won them the job in the first place. Lindsey Weber is no stranger to producing major projects, with "The Rings of Power" being one of the biggest ones to date.

Below is our conversation with this critical pair of behind-the-scenes individuals.

Patrick, you and J. D. came into the project with a complete story in place. I think J. D. said at one point you had the final shot planned and all that. As the show has gone on, you're almost halfway done now, how close have you stayed to that original vision?

Patrick McKay: Pretty close. Two down. A few more to go ... I would say we work with so many amazing collaborators and incredible actors. They're constantly inspiring new spins on ideas. But in terms of the general trajectory, we're still on the same road trip.

Lindsey, what part of Season 2 — we've got Entwives, Stoors, Tom Bombadil, more Rings — what part are you the most excited for audiences to see?

Lindsey Weber: Ooh, great one. Well, I can't wait for people to see the performances and the relationship between Sauron and Celebrimbor and Charlie Vickers and Charles Edward. Their performance is amazing. It's very much at the heart of what we're doing this season, and I think it is shocking and heartbreaking and incredible to watch. I can't wait for people to see the Siege of Eregion and what we put into it. We planned it for over a year. We started prepping it from day one. It took an unbelievable amount of effort, days and nights and everything in between from multiple directors and some of the best filmmakers, I think, working today that we have the pleasure to work alongside. It was very, very muddy and very, very intense, and I think the end result is amazing. We are very proud of it. Hopefully audiences will enjoy it as much as we do.

McKay: I will add quickly one other thing, which is in some ways Galadriel and Sauron's journey was shared in Season 1. This season, they're apart, but they're on a trajectory for a collision course. So what happens when they're reunited is what we're very excited to share as well.

Patrick, you mentioned Glorfindel at San Diego Comic-Con.

McKay: I did.

Can we really expect to see them in the show at some point?

McKay: When we started this project, we put together a whiteboard with every monster, world, beastie, people, character that might be around in this time of Middle-earth's history. He's on the board, so all I'll say is stay tuned.

I love it.

McKay: Good things come to those who wait.

Season 1, you had Covid complications, you're getting things up and running. Season 2, you moved halfway across the world, made things much bigger. Which one felt more challenging to make?

Weber: You make it sound hard. They were both challenging. Every day is challenging. Every shoot day is challenging for its own reasons. We were incredibly lucky to be in New Zealand in Season 1. I think we'll always cherish our time there. We were incredibly fortunate to be in London for Season 2 with an amazing crew and some very talented actors who've joined us like Rory Kinnear and Ciarán Hinds.

McKay: Ben Daniels.

Weber: You could go on and on. I think we feel just like a star watches over us a little bit, and it's always a journey and a challenge, but we're very lucky really.

Love it. Patrick?

McKay: Yeah, I would say, I think Season 1 ... Season 2 was maybe ... I don't know. There was a strike. It's never easy. It's a very difficult show to produce.

Weber: It's a very difficult show to produce.

McKay: But we're really all also proud of it, and this means the world to us and it's never easy. It's always hard. But I will say that all of us had the benefit of institutional knowledge in Season 2 that hopefully you feel in every episode.

Daniel Weyman played the mysterious role of "The Stranger" in "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" Season 1. By the end of the season, we discovered that he is an Istar or "Wizard," but we don't get much more info. In the finale, he headed east toward the largely unknown region of Rhûn with Markella Kavenagh's Nori Brandyfoot by his side. Megan Richards' Harfoot character, Poppy, initially stayed behind, although we know from promotional footage that she'll still be involved in the story.

Here is our talk with the dynamic trio headlining the eastward-focused portion of the "Rings of Power" story.

Daniel, what has it been like to be able to speak in full, often eloquent sentences this season?

Daniel Weyman: Good question. I was just fearful that people would say, "oh, he's so much less interesting when he's talking. If only he'd just shut up and we could go back to that other thing." But, yeah, we'll have to see how the audience goes with it. It was fun. I think it was nice to move it into a place where there could be some more character progression. He could learn a bit more through dialogue and come back with things. And also he still doesn't really know very much. I quite like the idea that even the language doesn't make anything really definitive with the Stranger. It's still more questions. Is that another?

I like that a lot. Now, Patrick McKay said that we should know who the Istar is by the end of Season 2. As we're watching Charlie Vickers fully step into that role of Sauron, are you looking forward to the time where you can kind of follow in those footsteps and shed that mantle of secrecy?

Weyman: Yeah. I mean, I don't really feel like there's been ... Because for me it's just been about playing these scenes that they sort of give me, and working with [Markella Kavenagh and Megan Richards] has been so awesome that I don't really feel I've had to worry about that. And I sort of already know who he is based on where his journey's got to. He had nothing at the very beginning and now he's got a season and a bit of personality and development, and so I've just been sort of staying there really. And so I sort of feel like I already know who he is, although he doesn't have a particular name yet. Maybe Doderick, who knows? But, yeah, it's been quite fun that journey.

Megan, Harfoot life was devastated at the end of Season 1. I know that Stoors are coming, but do we get to know how the Harfoot community is doing in Season 2 and will we see them again at some point?

Megan Richards: That's a very good question. This season I feel like the baton has kind of been passed on. There are definitely references to the community, and I think that the foundation of that community, it definitely bleeds through Poppy — and I mean Nori I think as well from my perspective. And so, they're definitely still with them soulfully, but at the moment, you're following through the eyes of Poppy and Nori.

Yeah. Forward motion, right?

Richards: Yeah.

Markella. Does the Frodo and Sam, "always there for each other" aspect of Nori and Poppy's friendship, does that develop further this season?

Markella Kavenagh: I think the love and commitment to their friendship, the friendship between Nori and Poppy, is still definitely there and is always going to be there. I think that they challenge each other, which is what really intrigues me about their friendship and what makes it feel truthful to me as acting out these scenes and also just personally. So, I hope that the strength of their relationship and their friendship, but also how irritated they get by each other also rings true and resonates.

Yeah, there's familiarity there, right?

Richards: Yeah.

Kavenagh: Yeah.

That's great. Very good.

Richards: It's family.

What is the most interesting thing about Rhûn?

Kavenagh: The most interesting thing about Rhûn?

Weyman: Wow.

Richards: The vastness, I think, for Poppy anyway, and for me. I mean, just looking at the landscape of Tenerife where we filmed, it's just never-ending. I think it's scary most of all to just even figure out where you are on the map and hope you're walking in the right direction.

Weyman: Yeah, and for The Stranger, having gone from, his only existence has been in this green ... There's been very ...

Richards: Well, for Poppy and Nori too, yeah.

Weyman: Right. Yeah, yeah. So sort of water, earth, trees, foliage.

Richards: Yeah.

Weyman: To suddenly go to this place where we had no water, no foliage, no trees, just sand. I think that is, like you're saying, it's a scary sort of big ... It's sort of unsettling on really many levels.

Kavenagh: And then knowing what's to come as a performer.

Weyman: What is to ... Oh, yeah. Sorry.

Kavenagh: Of Rhûn. Not of this story, but, yeah, it was exciting and thrilling.

Morfydd Clark plays Galadriel, in many ways the face of "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power." (At least as much as is possible with an ensemble cast of this size.) Clark's Galadriel is a younger, more headstrong iteration of the character, though one who went through some humbling experiences toward the end of Season 1.

Adar is a new character invented for the show. Played by Joseph Mawle in Season 1, the Orc leader had to be recast for Season 2, with Sam Hazeldine stepping into the vacuum. We got the opportunity to speak with the pair of actors, whose characters' stories cross in critical ways once again this season.

Morfydd, by this point in the story, in the source material, Galadriel has at least visited her future realm in Lothlórien. It's not central yet, but she's gone there. Are we going to get to see that region soon? In Season 2?

Morfydd Clark: We've still got quite a lot of time, but I think what we'll definitely see is her becoming more connected to the beauty and the gentleness of Middle-earth than she was in Season 1. She was kind of so wrapped up in her own individual grief that she was kind of as far away from an elf as an elf could be in Season 1. And she's kind of rediscovering what it is to be truly part of Middle-earth, and I guess to truly be alive as an elf. That's something I really enjoyed.

Sam, Joseph Mawle's Season 1 performance was impressive, but what is a unique element we can look for that you've added to Adar that's all your own?

Sam Hazeldine: I think apart from incredible good looks, I'd say ... No, J**** C*****. Well, I think the story takes us a new direction, and so it's the circumstances of the story that shape Adar more than anything else. And so there's a lot that goes on, a lot happens in Season 2. We all have to kind of cope with and do something about it quite quickly.

Clark: Poor Adar had a very short-lived ...

Hazeldine: Victory. Yeah.

Morfydd, in Unfinished Tales, Tolkien talks about Galadriel recognizing the potential in Dwarves and being generally aware of the strength of Khazad-dûm. So are we going to see her forge any friendships or alliances with Dwarves this season?

Clark: Um ...

Hazeldine: You're thinking about what you can and can't say?

Clark: Yeah. I mean, that kind of feeds into what I've enjoyed so much about playing her is that she's kind of at this low, where she's kind of lost all sense of what to be certain of and everything. And I feel that her way of rebuilding herself and not going in the direction that Sauron wants her to is, again, by seeing the beauty and the wonder and the hope of Middle-earth. And part of that is that she can see possibilities in the Dwarves and possibilities everywhere. What I really love about this season is that I think there's a lot of maybe a fool's hope in it. Everyone's got to try, despite what seems ... But yeah, interesting question.

I love that. That's a great answer.

Clark: Maybe at some point, you can discuss it more.

That's great. Sam, how does Adar manage to ally with and control characters as intimidating as the hill-troll Damrod?

Hazeldine: Well, yeah, again, we have to do whatever we can to kind of combat the threat of Sauron, so try to enlist as many allies as possible. I love the way that Adar ... I think it's a sort of a "show no fear" thing. If there's a ... The only thing I, as a human, can think of is if there's a bear in front of you, standing in front, you don't run away.

Clark: It depends on the bear, doesn't it?

Hazeldine: It does depend on the bear.

Clark: Certain ones, you should run away.

Hazeldine: I would never know which one to ... Aren't polar bears really ...

Clark: I think you're done.

Hazeldine: I think I'm unlikely to bump into a polar bear, though. Anyway.

Clark: But yeah. Actually brings me onto something in terms of ... Oh, sorry.

Hazeldine: No, yeah, but go on.

Clark: I'm loving all the Tolkien monsters that we're seeing in this ...

Hazeldine: Oh yeah. Amazing.

Clark: And that stuff is awesome.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" Season 2 premiered on Amazon Prime Video on August 29. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.