The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3’s status has reportedly been clarified in a new update following the lower ratings for season 2. Created by Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne, Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings series premiered in 2022, chronicling the growing conflict between Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Sauron (Charlie Vickers) in Middle-earth during the Second Age. The Rings of Power season 2 brought the fantasy series back to Prime Video in August, with viewership dipping compared to season 1.

A new report from THR now claims, however, that The Rings of Power season 3 has been in development for months, though Amazon hasn’t yet officially given the show the green light. According to the report, Amazon is pleased with season 2’s ratings, which saw 40 million people tune into the show’s first three episodes in their first 11 days on the service.

Season 2 is poised to become a top 5 season for Prime Video, and, as a result, THR says that sources have expressed to them that the streamer still plans to end the show with season 5, as was outlined in Payne and McKay’s original plan for the series.

What The Rings Of Power’s Season 3 Update Means For The Show

Why Seasons 4 & 5 Are Likely

Image via Prime Video

The rights alone for parts of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings cost Amazon a whopping $250 million in 2017, and the investment in The Rings of Power as a whole has been reported to reach as high as $1 billion across five seasons. While Amazon isn’t contractually obligated to make five seasons of the show, the company clearly sees the value of this IP. Plus, though viewership may be down in season 2 compared to season 1, The Rings of Power season 2 is still a strong performer on Prime Video overall.

The budget for season 1 is reported to be around $465 million, some of which went to laying the groundwork for future seasons. The show’s move to the UK from New Zealand with season 2 should also help to bring down logistical costs moving forward.

If The Rings of Power season 3 is officially renewed and the ratings end up being similar to season 2’s, it certainly seems likely that seasons 4 and 5 will follow. Reviews for season 2 have been generally more positive than those for season 1, but the audience response remains mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes, season 2 currently holds a strong 85% from critics and a 58% from audiences, both of which are bumps up from the 83% and 38% critics’ and audience scores, respectively, for season 1.

Our Take On The Rings Of Power Season 3

Will Amazon’s Investment Pay Off?

Image via Prime Video

Overall, it’s hard to judge exactly how The Rings of Power season 2 has been received, as there is a particularly vocal community committed to creating a sense of negativity around the show online. While Rotten Tomatoes scores can be useful, viewership for season 2 as a whole, which will hopefully become clear after the finale, will be able to provide a better idea of how big the fan base for the Prime Video series actually is. The viewers who stick around for all of season 2 are probably pretty likely to return for season 3 and beyond.

Though numbers for season 2 are promising and would be a stellar result for a show operating at a normal budget level, the massive investment in The Rings of Power means the bar for success is very high. Per-season budgets should presumably be lower after season 1, but whether Amazon’s big gamble on The Rings of Power will pay off in the long-term remains a question mark.