The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2’s release date could be sooner than expected. Premiering last month on Prime Video, Rings of Power has been praised by critics as a worthy successor to Lord of the Rings, though the series has split audiences for its deviation from J.R.R. Tolkien’s source material and diverse cast, with some disgruntled fans even restoring to review-bombing the show. Still, audiences are tuning in to Rings of Power in record numbers.
Even before Rings of Power‘s premiere, it was clear Prime Video’s series would be sticking around for the long haul considering Amazon made a five-season commitment to the Lord of the Rings show worth at least $1 billion, making it the most expensive television series ever made. Just days after Rings of Power‘s premiere, co-showrunner J.D. Payne revealed that season 2 was set to begin filming very soon. One month later, Rings of Power season 2 began filming in the UK, as opposed to New Zealand where the first season was filmed.
Now, a day after Rings of Power season 2 started filming, the head of Amazon Studios is offering an update on its release date. Per Variety, Jennifer Salke says the production team is working quickly to finish season 2 as fast as they can. She also revealed their desire to have the “shortest time possible between seasons” without suffering a decrease in quality. Read what Salke said below:
The production team is working on Season 2 now. We’re going to get that out into the world as soon as we can. We want the shortest time possible between seasons, but we want to keep the bar just as high. So it’ll take what it takes. But there’s been some urgency around moving quickly, which is why these guys have been writing all through their hiatus. We’re moving fast.
Based on Salke’s comments, it sounds like Amazon Studios is fast-tracking Rings of Power season 2 and working tirelessly to get it out for audiences as soon as possible. This is hardly a surprise given the show’s first official Nielsen ratings were recently released and revealed that Rings of Power topped the streaming charts in its debut week with a whopping 1.3 billion minutes watched just for the first two episodes. Viewership should only increase during the ramp-up to the season 1 finale. With audience turnout so high, it makes sense for Amazon to deliver a second season before interest has a chance to dwindle.
With Amazon Studios intent on fast-tracking production, Rings of Power season 2 could premiere a lot sooner than initially expected. Filming is already underway, though considering the show’s huge production scale, it likely won’t be ready to air until late next year at the earliest. But make no mistake, a late 2023 release date would still be an impressively quick turnaround for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2.
