Prime Video recently released the first trailer for the second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, giving us a glimpse of several new and returning characters who will be continuing the battle to project Middle-earth from Sauron and his forces.
One familiar face was significant by her absence, however, and we now know why.
EW reports that Nazanin Boniadi, who played the human healer Bronwyn in season 1, will not reprise the role after taking a break from acting in 2022 to focus her attention on a real-world crisis that developed in her home country of Iran.
"I stepped away from acting in September 2022, to focus solely on the #WomanLifeFreedom uprising in Iran and to advocate for the people of my homeland who have been risking everything for freedom," Boniadi wrote on Instagram earlier this month. "Despite my passion for acting, I knew it would take a very special project to convince me to once again split my time between my day job and my calling as an activist."
Another main cast member, Joseph Mawle, parted ways with the show last year, but his character, Orc leader Adar, will now be played by Sam Hazeldine. It doesn't sound like Bronwyn is going to be recast, so there's a chance she will be killed off (she did suffer a near-fatal wound in the season 1 finale) before the events of season 2.
"Sauron has returned. Cast out by Galadriel, without army or ally, the rising Dark Lord must now rely on his own cunning to rebuild his strength and oversee the creation of the Rings of Power, which will allow him to bind all the peoples of Middle-earth to his sinister will."
"Building on Season 1’s epic scope and ambition, Season 2 of Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power plunges even its most beloved and vulnerable characters into a rising tide of darkness, challenging each to find their place in a world that is increasingly on the brink of calamity."
"Elves and dwarves, orcs and men, wizards and Harfoots... as friendships are strained and kingdoms begin to fracture, the forces of good will struggle ever more valiantly to hold on to what matters to them most of all.. each other."
Returning cast members include Morfydd Clark, Benjamin Walker, Charles Edwards, Charlie Vickers, Markella Kavenagh, Nazanin Boniadi, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Tyroe Muhafidin, Maxim Baldry, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Owain Arthur, Trystan Gravelle, Ema Horvath, Sophia Nomvete, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Leon Wadham, Daniel Weyman, and Sara Zwangobani.
Sam Hazeldine (Peaky Blinders) replaces Joseph Mawle as Adar, with Ciarán Hinds (Game of Thrones), Rory Kinnear (Penny Dreadful), and Tanya Moodie (The Man Who Fell to Earth) joining the ensemble in key roles.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 returns to Prime Video on August 29.