NEW YORK, NEW YORK: (L-R) Luca Mosca, Benjamin Walker, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Ismaël Cruz Córdova, … [+]
In November 2017, Amazon Prime Video acquired the television rights for The Lord of the Rings from the J.R.R. Tolkien Estate with a production commitment for five years. The reported cost was at least $1 billion, which historically was the most expensive deal for any television series. Prime Video was looking for a spot amongst the growing streaming platforms, Netflix in particular. And the message was it was a serious player.
Flash to today and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has been renewed for a third season. The series is in pre-production and will begin filming this spring at Shepperton Studios in the UK.
Amazon is reporting over 170 million viewers worldwide for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, citing is as “one of its strongest drivers for new Prime membership sign-ups.” As of January 2025, Amazon Prime has over 200 million subscribers globally. In 2017, prior to the arrival The Lord of the Rings series, the streaming service had a recorded 99.7 million subscribers.
“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power continues to captivate audiences worldwide, and we’re thrilled that a third season is underway. The creative team has an extraordinary vision of what’s to come with stories that have left us enchanted and enthralled,” said Vernon Sanders, head of television, Amazon MGM Studios in a statement. “We look forward to continuing this epic journey, for our global customers, delving even deeper into the legendary tales that shaped Middle-earth.”
Charlotte Brändström, who served as co-executive producer and directed multiple episodes in the first two seasons, returns as executive producer and director for the third season. She is joined by Sanaa Hamri and Stefan Schwartz, with each director overseeing multiple episodes in the upcoming season.
Set thousands of years before the novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is based on the author’s history of Middle-earth. Per the logline, season three “jumps forward several years from the events of season two and takes place at the height of the War of the Elves and Sauron, as the Dark Lord seeks to craft the One Ring that will give him the edge he needs to win the war and conquer all Middle-earth at last.”
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