It’s been almost three months since The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 finale was released. Since its October 3rd airing, speculation has been ramped up by news media outlets, and the small Rings of Power fan base, that season 3 has been confirmed. However, has The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 been officially confirmed?
The answer is no.
The Rings of Power Season 3 has not been confirmed by Amazon, Amazon MGM Studios, Jeff Bezos, Jennifer Salke, any other Amazon representative, or Eru Ilúvatar himself. However, if one were to do a Google search, the AI-powered answer would say that it has been confirmed. Which is not true. But this wrong answer is being pushed because certain media outlets are reporting that season 3 has been confirmed as a fact (which brings up the issue of trusting AI for answers in the first place).
All for the clicks and to be pushed up in the algorithm.
It’s only a small selection of news media outlets that have plastered the headlines of Season 3 being confirmed all over the internet. A claim that appears to be based on an article from The Hollywood Reporter which simply reported that anonymous sources said, “A third season has been in the works for months, though it has not been officially greenlighted.“
But this was enough, it appears, for one particular news outlet called Screen Rant to run with the narrative. And boy has it been pushing that narrative to an insane degree. Unlike other outlets, which have been more reserved in reporting about Season 3, Screen Rant has gone all out to the point that it has manipulated Google’s AI tool to give an incorrect response.
The website has certainly gone into overdrive when it comes to quoting The Rings of Power showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay who have been talking about writing the script for season 3. However, both of them are motivated to say whatever they can to try and make sure that Amazon officially greenlight a third season. Similar to what they did as The Rings of Power was being developed for Season 1, except it was to sell their show to potential viewers rather than Amazon.
For a time, both McKay and Payne skirted around the question about if the Amazon show had access to The Silmarillion or any other works that talked about the Second Age. Criticism and speculation from skeptical Tolkien fans finally reached a fever pitch until The Rings of Power showrunners finally admitted, after a while of avoiding and obfuscation, that they did not have the rights to The Silmarillion or Unfinished Tales.
The same showrunners who thought they could write “the novel Tolkien never wrote” and do a better job of it. Given the perceived strength of The Lord of the Rings brand, it is no surprise that news media outlets are obsessed with every little “tidbit” that McKay and Payne are talking about. Which is not surprising since there is a vested interest from both Rings of Power fans and Tolkien fans as to what happens with the show.
Make no mistake, McKay and Payne are making the rounds because it sounds, at least to us, that they are trying very hard to drum up interest, whether organic or artificial, in the hopes that there is a season 3 for The Rings of Power. A season 3 that, almost four months since the end of Season 2, has still not been confirmed by Amazon. A show that, according to Amazon MGM Studios head Jennifer Salke, might not get the full five seasons originally designed as she stated, “We’ll continue to make the show as long as we see global customers loving it and watching it…”
The same is happening for Netflix’s The Witcher. While season 4 is still being developed, and undergoing a number of challenges, the official X account stated that “…we’re already planning season 5…” which is just another attempt to drum up support for the idea. So like The Witcher showrunner and writers, The Rings of Power showrunners are doing the same thing. Problem is, The Rings of Power season 2 greatly underperformed compared to season 1. An observation given more credence as Amazon continues to remain silent about the global audience viewership statistics.
Even if The Hollywood Reporter’s anonymous source is correct, just because Season 3 is allegedly being worked on, does not negate the possibility that Amazon won’t do a course correction of some kind. Or cancel The Rings of Power before production goes any further. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time a show has been cancelled during production or filming. But whether it is a cancellation of the show or a great reduction in scope and budget, there is still no doubt that, in light of Season 2’s underwhelming performance, that it has affected Amazon’s outlook on The Rings of Power since there isn’t even a release date.
While the chances of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 being cancelled is slight, the fact that it is even possible should be concerning for fans of the show. Should Amazon confirm that season 3 has been ordered, there is a high probability that it will have a reduced budget and smaller scale; most likely dropping entire storylines that haven’t resonated with the global audience. Of course, the fate of The Rings of Power is also based on whether or not Amazon has, or had, plans for future Lord of the Rings-spinoff properties given the $250 million paid out for the license.
But, until Amazon says anything official, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 has not been confirmed, yet.
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