The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power co-showrunner Patrick McKay and executive producer Lindsey Weber have teased the show’s imminent Season 2 premiere. For all the whimsy they promised Tolkien fans, they teased “an even darker path than any of us anticipated” in the return to the chaos of Middle-earth. Season 1 of the hit Amazon series followed various characters all unknowingly on the path toward the return of the villainous Sauron (Charlie Vickers). Now that he’s back in action, the peaceful landscape is on the verge of a major shake-up as faces familiar (like Morfydd Clark’s Galadriel) and new (such as Ismael Cruz Córdova’s Arondir) prepare for battle.
Alongside the rise of Sauron, some of the darker aspects of The Rings of Power Season 2 literally come thanks to the new filming location – London – and all the natural mist and darkness that comes with filming in The Big Smoke. McKay and Weber explain how the change of scenery has affected their vision for Middle-earth via TheWrap:
“It’s Sauron’s season, it’s a season that’s dominated by villains, a battle between two villains in Adar and Sauron. I think the environment and the weather has also seeped in and very much harmonizes with that darkness. I think people will feel, not in any specific moment but in the collective over the course of the season, it is decidedly more mysterious, mistier and darker.”
Luckily, however, it’s not all doom and gloom for the upcoming season of The Rings of Power. Fans are excitedly awaiting the return of The Stranger (Daniel Weyman) and whether he’s really the legendary Gandalf. And the anticipation for the live-action appearance of Tom Bombadil (Rory Kinnear) has fans on the edge of their seats.
The Journey of the Second Age in Rings of Power Season 2
McKay and Weber promise that the second season of The Rings of Power is by no means aiming for a more cynical tone. They both agree that it’s just not Tolkien’s style. However, darkness will become increasingly inevitable as the characters head towards major battles familiar to anyone who’s read the Lord of the Rings trilogy or The Silmarillion. McKay and Weber revealed more about the story, saying that the darkness is part of the saga naturally unfolding as characters confront bigger and bigger conflicts across Middle Earth.
“The plan was always that Season 1 was going to be this bright, lush reintroduction to Middle-earth in this different era where places like the dwarf kingdom is at it’s height, Numenor is this spectacular and beautiful place. The journey of the Second Age is every one of those societies falling into chaos, conflict and war. That meant that decidedly the road would darken as we went forward.
I think staying true to those themes led us, potentially, to an even darker path than any of us anticipated.”
