Amazon Sticking To Its “Rings of Power” Plan

A specific premiere date for a third season of Amazon Prime’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” has yet to be set, though it’s believed to be arriving on screens in a little under a year.

Filming on the third season began in May last year and ran through to the end of 2025. Each season generally requires around a year of post-production, so it potentially could hit either by the end of this year or early 2027.

That means the new season will arrive around two years after the second wrapped in October 2024. Will it still have an audience? The lavish fantasy adaptation has been under major scrutiny due to its high budget and soft reviews.

Viewership was huge for the debut, the first season watched by more than 100 million viewers globally by the end of 2022, and Prime Video’s most-watched series ever.

However, the season also saw disappointing completion rates and initially its second season numbers weren’t good – the premiere lost around half of the first season debut’s U.S. viewership.

Still, it performed strongly overseas and by February 2025, the second season became Prime Video’s most-watched returning season by number of hours watched and completion rates were notably higher.

Even so, there is the feeling that it is not the monster hit Amazon hoped it would be and certainly more divisive than they expected.

A new report from The Ankler’s Lesley Goldberg has gone into where things stand at Prime Video under the new leadership of Amazon MGM Studios global TV head Peter Friedlander, who took the position back in September.

They confirm that the series is still slated to complete its five-season and 50-episode run on Prime Video. Amazon was originally contracted to do that order when it signed with the estate of author J.R.R. Tolkien, publisher HarperCollins, and New Line Cinema.

One source tells the outlet the series will continue as “that’s still under Bezos’ magical halo,” referring to Amazon’s founder and CEO Jeff Bezos. However, due to the high costs, any planned spinoffs are unlikely to happen.

Friedlander reportedly visited the ‘Rings of Power’ set in London and told the show’s creative team that they will finish the story that they have planned. It was previously reported Amazon would have to pay the Tolkien estate a kill fee of $20 million per season if they don’t stick to that plan.