The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powershowrunner Patrick McKayhas revealed that season 2 of the series will focus extensively on the story of Sauron. The Amazon Prime series gathered much anticipation when it premiered on the streaming service in 2022 because of its premise, which takes us back in time to the Second Age of Middle-earth, thousands of years before the events ofThe Lord of the Rings, and follows several plotlines includinghow the Rings of Power are forged.
In a recent interview withEmpire, McKay teased that the upcoming seasonwill potentially dive deeper into Sauron’s origin. For a Tolkienian tale that has been sought after to adapt on screen, the idea is quite enchanting and described by the showrunner as “the great untold story on the screen.”
The Rings of Power
This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and takes viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness. Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.
McKay further describes how, over the course of the first season, while Sauron was operated in Middle-earth under the guise of the mysterious stranger Halbrand, the finale revealed something darker. He added:
“The opportunity now with Season 2 is: the audience is in on the con. We know who he is. We have a pretty good sense of what he wants. The fun is watching other people get ensnared in the web. As the season unfolds, the plan starts. One hammer after another starts to fall until, by the last couple of episodes, you realise the level and extent of how evil he is and how deeply he’s strategised this whole thing out… All our stories start to become one story, and the one story is the way the re-emergence of Sauron touches everybody and threatens the whole world.”
The Reveal of Sauron’s True Identity Could Take The Show To New Heights
The reveal that Halbrand is truly Sauron sets up an intriguing narrative for the upcoming season. As one of the most sinister villains in fantasy, Sauron’s identity, the formation of Mordor, and his rise to powercould change Middle-earth. Plus, his role in the forging of the Rings of Power will have pivotal consequences as well.
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Actor Charlie Vickers, who plays Sauron/Halbrand, has also discussed his iconic role and teased that viewers will see the self-proclaimed Lord of the Earthoperating under the guise of Annatar; he will also seek to deceive the elven-smith Celebrimbor into helping him create a bunch of rungs.
“I was so excited to get to this point of the story, because this is the canon of this time period. You have Sauron and Celebrimbor working together, making rings. Everything Sauron does is to serve other people, to appeal to someone else. In the same way the whole Halbrand thing was for Galadriel, this new look is for Celebrimbor.”
While McKay thinks that Sauron was always “hiding amongst our story,” his true identity is only now out in the open for the audiences. Either way, he will now perform and manipulate others unimpeded. As the primary antagonist of theLord of the Ringsstoryline, his schemes are only going to intensify. Season 2 promises to turn him into the dark tyrant known to fans from J.R.R. Tolkien’s books and the film trilogy.
Conflict seems inevitable in the upcoming season, as Sauron’s existence will redouble Galadriel’s efforts to oppose him, and it might lead to a confrontation. Fans can expect the series to feature Sauron’s twisted brilliance prominently through Charlie Vickers’ phenomenal lead, which makes Season 2 ofThe Rings of Powermore exciting.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerseason 2 is due to land on Amazon Prime Video on June 12, 2025.
