The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 will feature the return of a villain from the original Lord of the Rings trilogy, a star confirms. Based on the work of J. R. R. Tolkien, the hit Prime Video series is gearing up to continue the story of Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), Elrond (Robert Aramayo), and others, as the fight against Sauron (Charlie Vickers) intensifies. The Rings of Power season 2 is set to bring back a host of familiar characters while also introducing a handful of new ones into the mix, including some from Tolkien’s source material.

In a recent interview with EW, Isildur actor Maxim Baldry confirms that The Rings of Power season 2 will feature the return of Shelob, the monster that so memorably assailed Frodo (Elijah Wood) in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. According to Baldry, the show’s sophomore outing will feature an extended sequence in which Isildur must survive on his own in Mordor, and it’s here that he encounters the iconic spider. Check out his comment below:

“I’m awoken in a cave and I have to fight my way through Shelob to get to safety, which is an obscene way to start a season. It’s a story of survival and it’s a story about ‘be careful what you wish for.’ He grows from a boy into a man and has to learn who to trust and who not to trust.”

How The Rings Of Power Season 2 Can Improve Isildur’s Journey

Maxim Baldry’s Character Is A Tragic Figure In The Lord Of The Rings

The Rings of Power season 1 reviews were generally positive from critics, with praise aimed at Galadriel’s journey and the show’s fleshing out of the world of Middle-earth. One area where season 1 arguably falls short, however, is with its handling of Isildur. Isildur is a minor character in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies, but not an insignificant figure in the larger history of Middle-earth. As the Fellowship of the Ring prologue reveals, Isildur is the one who strikes the final blow against Sauron and takes the One Ring for himself before being corrupted by it.

New Zealand actor Harry Sinclair plays Isildur in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring .

Now, The Rings of Power is very much a show about the unique connection between Galadriel and Sauron and the forging of the titular rings, but it also has an opportunity with season 2 to further flesh out Isildur. The show, for example, could foreshadow his eventual corruption by the Ring, ultimately making his death and the manner in which it occurs all the more tragic. With the tease that Isildur is getting his own extended survival sequence in Mordor in season 2, the show could be doing just that.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 – SDCC Trailer

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By giving Isildur more hero moments in The Rings of Power season 2, like a fight against Shelob, he essentially has further to fall when he eventually comes to possess the Ring. Isildur is a tragic character with a tragic arc, in many ways, and season 2 could certainly further mine this as a source of drama and emotion. Many questions still remain about The Rings of Power season 2, but Shelob’s inclusion certainly sounds like an exciting way to make Isildur a more prominent character.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 premieres on Prime Video on August 29.