The Lord of the Rings franchise has been expanding, with several new movies in development, starting with The Hunt for Gollum, which is already in production. The Tolkien universe has also expanded onto the small screen, with Amazon Prime Video investing a hefty sum to create The Rings of Power, a prequel series that examines the pivotal early chess moves between evil lord Sauron and the forces of good that oppose him, and how the creation of the Rings of Power forever altered the fate of Middle-earth.
Reactions to The Rings of Power have been mixed, with some fans loving the commitment Amazon’s made to giving the show a movie-scale budget and production values; others lament that the revisionist takes on Tolkien lore set the show apart from Peter Jackson’s films. Given the scale of the production and budget, some have wondered if The Rings of Power can go the distance and fulfill its original 5-season plan. Now, we have an update on whether or not that will be the case.
Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 3 will premiere on Amazon Prime Video on November 11, 2026. And yet, a new industry report indicates that production plans are already being laid out for Season 4, with shooting supposedly getting set to begin in “early 2027.”
The production pacing of the past three seasons would suggest that season 4 would get done shooting in 2027 and premiere sometime in 2028. While that information is only modestly impactful on its own, the actions being taken by Amazon and New Line Cinema do speak volumes about the larger goal, here…
As stated, Amazon’s original production commitment was for 5 seasons of The Rings of Power; it was a commitment that shook up the industry, as Amazon paid the “insane” price (according to some industry analysts) to acquire the series for $250 million upfront, not including production and marketing costs. Each season was projected to cost upwards of $150 million (blockbuster movie budgets), with exorbitant “kill fees” (upwards of $20 million per season) if the season wasn’t produced. Overall, the 5-season series was projected to cost $1 billion, setting a new record for the most expensive TV show ever made. Since Rings of Power premiered, there have been various reports about the creative “revisions” that have taken place behind the scenes. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is rumored to be safeguarding the series from cancellation, but Seasons 2 and 3 have been produced on reportedly smaller budgets to save costs.
Season 2 of The Rings of Power scored better with both critics and audiences; it also held the majority of its audience through the finale, while drawing in new viewers. That might be the best thing the series has going for it: as The Rings of Power goes on, its story will only start to get more familiar and more exciting for Lord of the Rings fans, as the show chronicles significant moments that are more directly tied to the events of LotR and its prequel book, The Hobbit. The second season took big strides in cutting away the dragging “mysteries” of Season 1 and firmly establishing characters like Gandalf (Daniel Weyman) and how Sauron manipulated and corrupted the rings during their creation. We already know Season 3 is going to jump forward in time a few years, and examine the war between the Elves and Sauron, and the evil scheme to create the “One Ring” Sauron will use to bend all other ring-bearers to his will.
The Season 3 storyline already sounds like an exciting “event” that will have Tolkien fans tuning in. Knowing how the story progresses from that point, Seasons 4 and 5 seem like no-brainers for Amazon to invest in, as every fan who saw the Lord of the Rings films is waiting for this series to reach that epic moment in the Second Age, when men and elves united for a final “War of the Last Alliance” against Sauron, which ended in a fierce battle on the ashen grounds of Mordor (aka “Siege of Barad-dûr”). Perhaps that war could be handled in Season 4 (with another time jump), but at this point, why not just complete the original vision?
Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is streaming on Prime Video. Season 3 will premiere on November 11th. Are you still invested in the show? Discuss on the ComicBook Forum!
