Thanks to the next issue of Empire Magazine, we have a new look at The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 3. Two covers have been revealed, with the first of those—and an official still—putting the spotlight on Charlie Vickers's Sauron.
The subscriber cover, illustrated by Carlos Huant, features a first look at Gandalf the Grey battling a Mûmak of Harad, an Oliphaunt which resembles a gigantic elephant. Its presence here is a deep-cut nod to author J. R. R. Tolkien's work.
Sauron's journey has become perhaps the most intriguing part of the Prime Video series, and it sounds like he will continue being put front and centre when it returns on November 11.
Talking to the site, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power co-showrunner Patrick McKay teased, "This is the season where Sauron makes the One Ring in the volcano."
Co-showrunner J.D. Payne added, "We have a full-on villain this season, in a way that was quite different before," prompting McKay to add that Sauron's emergence "changes the tone of the show. This third season is darker, more dangerous. No one is safe."
Vickers chimed in to explain that donning Sauron's crown and taking his throne in Barad-dûr was an emotional moment for him as an actor.
"The first day I walked onto that set, I cried," he recalled "What an amazing privilege and honour to be able to tell that story. We were doing the Ring across two weeks, because the sequence is so long. As McKay put it, the result is, "The single most ambitious, technically challenging sequence we’ve ever done on the show. Charlie’s performance is absolutely staggering. We never could have prepared for it."
"The first two seasons were all about building out this world," the co-showrunner continued. "But throughout that time, we’re lighting all these fuses and setting all these stories in motion. The third season is when all those bombs are starting to explode."
Jumping forward several years from the events of Season 2, Season 3 takes place at the height of the War of the Elves and Sauron, as the Dark Lord seeks to craft the One Ring that will give him the edge he needs to win the war, bind all peoples to his will – and at last rule all Middle-earth.
Season 3 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is produced by showrunners and executive producers J.D. Payne & Patrick McKay. They are joined by executive producers Lindsey Weber, Justin Doble, Kate Hazell, and executive producer-director Charlotte Brandstrom. Matthew Penry-Davey is producer and Ally O’Leary, Tim Keene, and Andrew Lee are co-producers.
Stay tuned for more updates on Middle-earth as we have them.