Prime Video (via SFFGazette.com) has announced seven new cast members for the upcoming second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, and one of them will be replacing Joseph Mawle in the role of Adar.
This news is sure to disappoint fans of the fantasy prequel series, as the enigmatic Orc leader ("I prefer Uruk") proved to be one of the more popular additions to the established lore. No reason was given for Mawle stepping way from the series, but Sam Hazeldine (Peaky Blinders, The Sandman) will be taking over.
The other new recruits are: Gabriel Akuwudike (Hanna), Yasen ‘Zates’ Atour (The Witcher), Ben Daniels (The Crown), Amelia Kenworthy (making her TV debut), Nia Towle (Persuasion), and Nicholas Woodeson (Silent Witness).
No details on any of their characters were provided.
“Since its premiere, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has been bringing audiences together to experience the magic and wonder of J.R.R. Tolkien’s magnificent Middle-earth. To date, season one is the top Original series for Prime Video in every region and has been viewed by over 100 million people worldwide, a truly global hit that speaks to the universal nature of powerful storytelling. We welcome these wonderful actors to our ‘fellowship’ and look forward to telling more incredible Second Age stories in season two,” said Vernon Sanders, Head of Global Television, Amazon Studios.
You can check out head-shots of the actors in the Twitter thread below, along with a Tweet from Mawle addressing his departure.
Amazon Studios’ series brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth’s history. 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 will take 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.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power stars Morfydd Clark, Benjamin Walker, Charles Edwards, Charlie Vickers, Markella Kavenagh, Nazanin Boniadi, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Tyroe Muhafidin, Maxim Baldry, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Owain Arthur, Trystan Gravelle, Sir Lenny Henry, Ema Horvath, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Leon Wadham, Daniel Weyman, and Sara Zwangobani.