The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power Season 2 Teaser Reveals Sauron's New Form

Today brings us some big news for the most annoying people you know. (Apologies to my fellow Tolkien nerds for catching this stray, but we all know it's true.) Seemingly out of nowhere, "The Lord of the Rings" has become a hot commodity once again between the recent announcement of the "Hunt for Gollum" spin-off/prequel movie, this year's upcoming animated effort titled "The War of the Rohirrim," and, of course, the ongoing television show that's caused no controversy or divided opinions whatsoever known as "The Rings of Power."

Set thousands of years prior to the events of "The Fellowship of the Ring" during the period known as the Second Age, season 1 of the wildly expensive streaming series was a solid and enjoyable enough experience that attempted to reach the same heights as Peter Jackson's original trilogy. It may not have become the instant "Game of Thrones"-sized cultural juggernaut that Prime Video was likely hoping for — it's worth noting that even the hit HBO series took years to finally break through and reach that point — but viewers were nonetheless treated to an extravagant, imaginative, and deeply nerdy addition to the high fantasy genre. It was probably always going to be an uphill battle to win over hardcore fans who take even the slightest deviation from J.R.R. Tolkien's "sacred texts" as a personal insult, but count me among the sizable group of skeptics who found themselves won over in the end.

After quite a bit of downtime, season 2 of "The Rings of Power" is finally coming into focus as Prime Video has released a shiny new teaser. Check it out at the link above!

I don't know about you, but I think I'm quite ready for another adventure. It feels like ages ago when "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" first premiered in September of 2022, following an ensemble cast of characters led by Morfydd Clark's Galadriel, Robert Aramayo's Elrond, and Markella Kavenagh's Nori Brandyfoot, but we've finally received our first look at what's to come in season 2. The surprisingly villain-centric teaser is light on plot, but heavy on mood and tone as we glimpse what sure looks like the Dark Lord Sauron in a new form (book readers, start your Annatar theories now), no shortage of epic war imagery, and even the mysterious Stranger (Daniel Weyman, all but confirmed to be playing the wizard Gandalf) and the Harfoot Nori wandering in what's almost certainly the desert land of Rhûn.

After depicting the making of the fabled Rings of Power and revealing that evil had been hiding in plain sight all along (Charlie Vickers' Halbrand, aka Hot Sauron), season 2 clearly has a lot of ground to cover and returning showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay will need to be up to the task. Much of the original cast is set to return, from Charles Edwards' ring-forging elf Celebrimbor (whom we also see briefly in the teaser) to Ismael Cruz Córdova's warrior Arondir to, of course, everyone's favorite dwarven power couple Prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur) and Princess Disa (Sophia Nomvete). Joining them will be Ciarán Hinds, Rory Kinnear, Amelia Kenworthy, and Sam Hazeldine stepping in for Joseph Mawle as the corrupted elf Adar.

We now know that season 2 of "The Rings of Power" will debut on Prime Video on August 29, 2024.