Summary

Season 3 production of LOTR: Rings of Power has begun, teasing Sauron's return to Middle-earth.
Fans await the continuation of season 2 cliffhanger in season 3, exploring more of Tolkien's lore.
New characters like Celeborn and Vecna in season 3 add excitement, with a potential 2026 release date.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power released its second season on Amazon Prime in August 2024, and now, almost a year later, fantasy fans have a brand-new teaser to look forward to as the streamer shares a season 3 production update, which hints at a major character's return.

Even though The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two received lower ratings compared to its first season, with only around half of the U.S. Population tuning into the show this time around, the solid acting and stunning cinematography, as well as a deeper dive into Tolkien's lore, kept most fans happily glued to their screens. The Lord of the Rings TV spinoff series has introduced a host of characters in its existing seasons, with the likes of Ciarán Hinds, Rory Kinnear, and Tanya Moodie adding to the magic and wonder of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic Middle-earth narratives. The second season took fans on an epic journey in the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron and the creation of more Rings, with episode 8 ending in the Siege of Eregion as the elven city lay destroyed. As Lord of the Rings fans wait to hear more about when they will see the continuation of that cliffhanger in season three, Amazon has teased a juicy behind-the-scenes season 3 clip.

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Amazon Teases Sauron’s Return to Middle-Earth in Behind-the-Scenes Clip

TROP_Episode 5 — Charlie Vickers as Sauron in Episode 5 of The Rings of Power season 2.

A few months after season 2's finale in October last year, season 3 of Amazon's Rings of Power was greenlit at the start of 2025, and now it looks as though production has finally begun. Over on The Rings of Power' s Twitter/X page, a new teaser has been revealed that showcases a look at Sauron on the verge of ascending to the powerful and terrifying immortal spirit fans will know all too well from The Lord of the Rings mythology.

The clip of Sauron's Iron Crown teases that the Dark Lord is indeed back once more and is gearing up to reign over Middle-earth. However, even though there will be dark times that will define the Second Age, Sauron will have a fight on his hands as the elves and Galadriel will do everything they can to defeat the most powerful of the Maiar to bring him to his knees, once and for all.

Back in February, fans saw that Stranger Things' Jamie Campbell Bower, who plays Vecna, would be heading into another realm, but instead of the Upside Down, Bower will be heading to Middle-earth for Season 3 alongside Eddie Marsan, with rumors suggesting that he might be taking on the role of Galadriel's husband Celeborn, who hasn't appeared in the series as yet.

Previously, Charlie Vickers, who plays Sauron in Rings of Power, revealed that his character would be faced with more challenges, as well as reeling from his knockback from Galadriel at the end of Rings of Power season 3, but that fans of the show will be pleased with where his narrative goes. “I’m incredibly lucky that Sauron in this time period is very specific to what he does," said Vickers. "We get to go through so many exciting beats that I think fans will be really excited to see."

Season 3 of Rings of Power currently doesn't have a release date as yet, but here's hoping, with production now on the go, its third installment should be released sometime in 2026.

galadriel and sauron Rings of Power season 3

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Release Date: September 1, 2022
Network: Amazon Prime Video
Showrunner: John D. Payne, Patrick McKay, Louise Hooper, Charlotte Brändström, Wayne Yip
Directors: J.A. Bayona, Sanaa Hamri
Writers: Patrick McKay, John D. Payne, J.R.R. Tolkien, Justin Doble, Jason Cahill, Gennifer Hutchison, Stephany Folsom, Nicholas Adams
Franchise(s): The Lord of the Rings