Amazon announced three new cast members for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 3 on Thursday, but not the roles they will be playing. One is Andor star Zubin Varla, while the others are Ponies star Andrew Richardson and The Witcher: Blood Origin star Adam Young. The new season just began filming recently in the U.K., and few details we’ve gotten so far on the plot and characters are tantalizing. The show reimagines the history of J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels, drawing on the references within the main books themselves rather than companion books like The Silmarillion. That keeps the suspense alive, and makes it even harder to guess who these three actors might be playing.
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Varla appeared in four episodes of Andor Season 1 as Xanwan, and with the recent lauded conclusion of that show, he is a major asset for this fantasy production. However, Young’s role as a sailor in The Witcher franchise may seem more relevant to some fans. Richardson is relatively new to the genre, but according to Amazon, he will be a series regular in this season. Varla and Young will both have recurring roles.
Season 3 will be an exciting time for The Rings of Power as Middle-earth pivots to prepare for war. This series depicts all the major events of the Second Age in Tolkien’s history, which played out over thousands of years according to The Silmarillion. Here, they are condensed for dramatic effect, but the showrunners have announced that there will be a time-skip at the beginning of Season 3. That could help things feel more grounded, though it may be an ominous calm before the storm.
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With Sauron now out in the open and elves, dwarves, men, and orcs all mustering their forces for war, the timing is great to introduce some new characters. There are also the Harfoots to consider, though we shouldn’t expect them to form ranks any time soon. At this time in Middle-earth, humanity’s greatest stronghold is the island nation of Númenor, and some new perspectives on that part of the world would be welcome.
It will be interesting to see if The Rings of Power is buoyed at all by simultaneous, unrelated production in The Lord of the Rings franchise. Last year saw the release of War of the Rohirrim, and excitement is now building for a new live-action feature, The Hunt for Gollum. These are in the works by the same studios that made Peter Jackson’s film series, and many of the same creative minds as well. They’re not connected to The Rings of Power, but perhaps growing interest in Tolkien’s lore will make them complimentary for some fans.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 3 is filming now, with no release date just yet. The first two seasons are streaming now on Prime Video.
