Prime Video committed to at least two (though more are planned) seasons of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power shortly after the series entered production, and it's now been confirmed that cameras are rolling again in the United Kingdom.
Filming commenced on Monday at Bray Studios, just outside London. Season 1 was shot in New Zealand, but the decision was made to change-up location because The UK is "considered more economical and is also where the company is establishing a multi-show hub."
Season 2, which will also consist of 8 episodes, is set to introduce Círdan. "The Shipwright" hasn't been cast yet (that we know of), but the character should be familiar to Tolkien aficionados, as he was known to be one of the wisest and oldest living Elves in Middle-earth all the way up to the Fourth Age.
The penultimate season 1 instalment is set to hit the streamer this Friday, after episode 6 concluded on a massive cliffhanger with Mount Doom erupting and covering The Southlands (soon to be known as Mordor) in fire and ash.
If you'd like a better idea of what to expect from episode 7, you'll find a promo below.
Amazon Studios’ forthcoming 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.