A relatively new rumor claims that Prime Video’s planned third season for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will be “much lower” compared to the upcoming second season.
Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Queen Regent Míriel, Ismael Cruz Córdova as Arondir, and Charlie Vickers as Halbrand in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022), Amazon Studios
This latest rumor comes from scoopers Fellowship of Fans. The scoopers posted on X at the end of March, “The Rings of Power Season 3 which will film in the UK will have a much lower budget than season 2 with a focus to reduce departmental costs.”
The scoopers added, “Some of the costs for departments such as hair/ makeup, costume, sound etc were more expensive in the UK than New Zealand.”
Fellowship of Fans on X
The scoopers added in a follow-up, “It is understood that this is nothing to worry about as the start up costs for S1 in NZ were massive as it was setting the grounds for 5 seasons and with the relocation to the UK in s2 it was again expensive to start up again in a new location again so it makes sense for a 5 season show to have it be balanced out.”
Fellowship of Fans on X
This rumor comes after Amazon MGM Studios announced layoffs in the middle of January that would affect “several hundred” employees at the studio.
The company’s Senior Vice President Mike Hopkins informed employees in an email that was obtained my Deadline, “Throughout the past year, we’ve looked at nearly every aspect of our business with an eye towards improving our ability to deliver even more breakthrough movies, TV shows, and live sports in a personalized, easy to use entertainment experience for our global customers. As a result, we’ve identified opportunities to reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas while increasing our investment and focus on content and product initiatives that deliver the most impact. As a result of these decisions, we will be eliminating several hundred roles across the Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios organization.
Sophia Nomvete as Princess Disa in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022), Amazon Studios
He continued, “Today, we will begin to reach out to colleagues who are impacted by these role reductions. Notifications will be sent out shortly, and we expect all notifications in the Americas to be completed this morning (Pacific time), and most other regions by the end of the week.”
Furthermore he added, “This is a difficult decision to make and one that my leadership team and I do not take lightly. It is hard to say goodbye to talented Amazonians who’ve made meaningful contributions on behalf of our customers, team and business. Thank you for your dedication and work. To help with the transition, we are providing packages that include a separation payment, transitional benefits as applicable by country, and external job placement support.”
Daniel Weyman as The Stranger in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022), Prime Video
These layoffs came after a report by Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw in July 2023 that Amazon CEO Andy Jassy was looking into the costs of numerous shows at Prime Video.
Shaw detailed in his report at the time, “Jassy is now trying to get a better handle on why specific shows cost what they do, based on conversations with more than a dozen different people who either work at Amazon or have worked with the company on projects.”
Morfydd Clark (Galadriel) in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022), Prime Video
Not only does this rumor come in the wake of Amazon MGM Studios announcing the lay off of hundreds of employees, but it also comes following a damning report from Kim Masters at The Hollywood Reporter back in April 2023.
Masters reported, “While Amazon, like other streamers, provides only limited data — and internally, it held information even more closely than usual on the series — sources confirm that The Rings of Power had a 37 percent domestic completion rate (customers who watched the entire series).
“Overseas, it reached 45 percent. (A 50 percent completion rate would be a solid but not spectacular result, according to insiders). The show has not been a major awards contender, either, overlooked by the major guilds with the exception of one SAG-AFTRA nomination for stunt ensemble,” she added.
Markella Kavenagh (Elanor ‘Nori’ Brandyfoot), Lenny Henry (Sadoc Burrows) in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022), Prime Video
Not only did The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power see terrible completion rate, it’s viewership did not shatter any records.
Nielsen reported that the series debuted with 1.253 billion minutes viewed in North America. That included the first two episodes as Prime Video released them together on September 1, 2022.
That would be as high as the show would go. It would trend downward from there week after week. In its second week it declined to 1.203 billion. By week three it was down to 988 million minutes viewed. In week four it fell to 977 million minutes. Week five saw it drop to 966 million minutes.
It did see a bump when the season finale was released. It jumped to 1.137 billion with viewers likely binging the entire series. However, the week following its finale, it saw viewership minutes drop to 570 million. In the subsequent week, it fell of Nielsen’s charts with viewership below 354 million.
Charlie Vickers (Halbrand), Morfydd Clark (Galadriel) in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022), Prime Video
The series received an atrocious Rotten Tomatoes score of 38% from audiences. The average rating was 2.4 out of 5.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Rotten Tomatoes score
On IMDb it has a middling rating of 7.0.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power IMDb score
Back in 2022, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay revealed to Empire that the show was expected to have five seasons.
Payne told the outlet, “The rights that Amazon bought were for a 50-hour show. They knew from the beginning that was the size of the canvas – this was a big story with a clear beginning, middle and end. There are things in the first season that don’t pay off until Season 5.”
He added, “We even know what our final shot of the last episode is going to be.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 23: “The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power” New York Special Screening at Alice Tully Hall on August 23, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Jenny Anderson/Prime Video)
In December 2022, Head of Global TV for Amazon Studios Vernon Sanders informed Deadline that the company was committed to McKay and Payne’s vision for the show.
He was asked by the outlet’s Nellie Andreeva, “Rings of Power received an early Season 2 renewal in late 2019. Now that Season 1 is out, are you still committed to Patrick and J.D.’s vision of telling the story over five seasons and if so, when can we expect a Season 3 renewal?”
Sanders replied, “We are absolutely committed, we have every reason to be excited. They’ve done a tremendous job. It’s a great question about Season 3, we’re probably two to three months in on Season 3 but I think there could be news certainly in the new year. There’s so much planning and prep that’s necessary for us to get this mounted that the only reason we probably haven’t gotten there quite yet is we’ve just been so heads down in Season 2, but I would expect there to be news in the new year.”
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – AUGUST 15: (L-R) Vernon Sanders, Head of Global TV of Amazon Studios, and Jennifer Salke, Head of Amazon Studios attends “The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power” Los Angeles Red Carpet Premiere & Screening on August 15, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for Prime Video)
No such news about a third season renewal was made in 2023. However, in February of this year, The Hollywood Reporter’s James Hibberd and Borys Kit reported that Amazon MGM Studios inked a new three-year deal with showrunners Patrick McKay and JD Payne.
The duo also noted, “While a third season hasn’t officially been ordered and a writers room has not yet opened, the showrunners have started to break the initial story outline.”
The report also indicated that Amazon was moving the show’s production hub from Bray Studios to Shepperton Studios in the United Kingdom.
Morfydd Clark (Galadriel) in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022), Prime Video
What do you make of this rumor that the budget is being cut for an alleged third season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power?
