Much like wizards, San Diego Comic-Con trailers are never late, nor are they early — they arrive precisely when they mean to. Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” film trilogy may cast quite the long shadow, even a quarter of a century later, but “The Rings of Power” has been attempting to summon up that magic again for the small screen. After two relatively up-and-down seasons, Prime Video’s mega-budget “Lord of the Rings” series is now preparing for its third installment, and we’re finally getting our first look thanks to the annual fan convention.
Love it or hate it, “The Rings of Power” is here to stay, and viewers who’ve come to appreciate its charms can now look forward to its darkest chapter yet. After years of hemming and hawing over the exact identity of the Dark Lord Sauron (played by Charlie Vickers), the streaming show promises to depict the biggest event in “The Lord of the Rings” with the forging of the One Ring. That inevitably means Sauron’s war against the free peoples of Middle-earth will now be waged in earnest, while our good guys (including Morfydd Clark as Galadriel, Robert Aramayo as Elrond, Ismael Cruz Córdova as Arondir, Owain Arthur as Prince Durin, Daniel Weyman as Gandalf, and many more) will be hard-pressed to keep such evil at bay.
So, what do co-showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay have in store for us in Season 3? That’s exactly what we’re all eager to see for ourselves. Check out the new trailer above!
The Rings of Power Season 3 will explore several The Lord of the Rings origin stories
Ever wonder exactly how Sauron forged the One Ring of Power? What about where the Dark Lord found those nine creepy Ringwraiths to do his evil bidding? Oh, and there’s also the matter of what all the free peoples of Middle-earth did to try and thwart his attempts at world domination. Prime Video’s “The Rings of Power” has teed up several unanswered questions throughout its first two seasons, but Season 3 now appears to be putting the pieces in place to explain some very familiar concepts to fans of “The Lord of the Rings.”
Our first extended look at the upcoming episodes teases the volcanic hellscape of Mordor, Sauron’s efforts to corrupt the various Rings of Power wielded throughout the land, and, yes, the creation of the ultimate weapon that makes him so powerful in the first place. “The Rings of Power” has had a grand ol’ time adapting entire swaths of the Tolkien legendarium, but now it’s officially reached the meat of the story. Sauron is no longer in hiding, his plans are coming to focus, and it’s up to our remaining heroes to battle him every step of the way. Sure, audiences around the world first caught glimpses of all these events back in 2001 during the epic prologue sequence of Peter Jackson’s “The Fellowship of the Ring” (which remains an essential rewatch after “The Rings of Power”). But it’s one thing to breeze through the highlights of ancient history — and quite another to actually witness it alongside the characters who lived through it all firsthand.
“The Rings of Power” Season 3 will arrive November 11, 2026 on Prime Video.
