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TL;DR:

  • Amazon Studios wants The Rings of Power Season 2 to release as soon as possible.
  • Showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay suggested it could be a “couple years.”
  • The Rings of Power Season 1 took around three years to make its debut.
Morfydd Clark as Galadriel in 'The Rings of Power' for our article about a possible season 2 release date. She's wearing armor and walking away from a fire.
Morfydd Clark in ‘The Rings of Power’ | Ben Rothstein/Prime Video

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has become one of 2022’s biggest hits, and after a solid season 1 finale, fans are eager to know when season 2 will arrive. Unfortunately, Amazon seems to be sending mixed signals on that front. While the studio itself wants to get the new episodes out as soon as it can, showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay believe the wait could be a “couple years.” That makes it hard to predict a potential release date for The Rings of Power Season 2.

Amazon Studios wants ‘The Rings of Power’ Season 2 to release as soon as possible

On the heels of The Rings of Power‘s first-season finale, fans are already wondering when the show will return. After bombshell revelations about Sauron and The Stranger (Daniel Weyman), viewers are eager to see how the rest of this story unfolds. And according to The Hollywood Reporter, production on season 2 has already begun — though it’s hard to say when we’ll actually see it.

Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, spoke about the next chapter during an interview with Variety. According to Salke, the company is hoping to get season 2 “out into the world as soon as we can.”

“We want the shortest time possible between seasons, but we want to keep the bar just as high,” Salke explained. “So it’ll take what it takes. But there’s been some urgency around moving quickly, which is why these guys have been writing all through their hiatus. We’re moving fast.”

That speed will no doubt be appreciated by fans, but it doesn’t quite align with what showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay had to say about The Rings of Power Season 2’s release. Their estimate suggests we might not see new episodes until at least 2024.

Showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay say work on season 2 could last ‘another couple years’

While Amazon seems eager to release more episodes of The Rings of Power, J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay offered a lengthier estimate for season 2.

Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, McKay suggested that work on the next outing could continue for ““another couple years.” That means viewers wouldn’t see the series until 2024 at the earliest.

Of course, Payne and McKay’s timeline likely accounts for production and post-production editing. Such things can take a while, especially when there’s a heavy focus on quality. And the showrunners assured THR that season 2 will be “bigger and better.” Hopefully, that means it will be worth the wait.

How long did it take to film ‘The Rings of Power’ Season 1?

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‘The Rings of Power’ Revealed Sauron, But His Endgame Is Still Unclear

The Rings of Power Season 2 may take two or more years to get here, but how does its release timeline compare to season 1?

The first season of the Amazon series entered production in February 2020, and season 1 didn’t premiere until Sept. 1, 2022. Of course, like many other shows at the time, The Rings of Power faced obstacles due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Fortunately, it’s unlikely season 2 will face similar delays.

Even so, it sounds like new episodes are a ways away — meaning fantasy fans will need to find other shows to watch in the meantime. Perhaps Amazon’s other genre hit, The Wheel of Time, will return in the interim. And there’s always The Rings of Power Season 1 to rewatch, as all eight episodes are currently streaming on Prime Video.

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