Amazon will launch the third season of its big-budget The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power TV series in 2026, it’s been reported.
The Hollywood Reporter today confirmed that Prime Video will debut new Rings of Power episodes before the end of the year — countering growing rumors that the series would not return before 2027.
A late 2026 arrival for Season 3 will mean fans will have waited two years between seasons — the same gap as between the show’s debut and its sophomore year.
While it may have been two years for fans, it will have been even longer for Rings of Power’s characters — who we’ll return to after something of a time jump. While Season 2 ended with Galadriel and her elvish friends finally united and ready to fight the growing threat of Sauron, the series’ third run will fast forward to the middle of the subsequent conflict.
“Jumping forward several years from the events of season two, season three takes place at the height of the War of the Elves and Sauron,” an official synopsis reads, “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.”
Earlier this month, it was reported that Rings of Power was still on-track to run for five seasons, with the $1 billion Prime Video show claimed to be still under the protection of Amazon boss Jeff Bezos’ “magical halo” despite its huge costs.
In 2018, Amazon beat Netflix for a $250 million rights deal with the Tolkien estate, publisher HarperCollins, and New Line Cinema that included a five-season commitment to bring The Lord of the Rings to TV screens. But there had been some concern about its future, given the huge costs involved and lower viewership numbers for Season 2.
Today’s The Hollywood Reporter article describes Rings of Power as having been “an enormous success for the streaming platform with around 170 million viewers worldwide and a major driver of Prime membership signups.”
Prime Video gave fans a first look at Season 3 last year, with a clip that showed Elendil training for battle and picking up the legendary blade Narsil.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
