‘The Rings Of Power’ teases Gandalf reveal in latest episode

5 September, 2024

The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power

The Rings Of Power are teasing a Gandalf reveal in the latest episode of the show.

The first three episodes of the new season are streaming on Amazon Prime Video now, with the remainder of the eight episodes to be released weekly until October 3.

Created by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, the prequel series is set thousands of years before J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord Of The Rings trilogy and depicts the rise of Sauron in Middle-earth’s Second Age.

In the latest episode, the show is teasing a Gandalf reveal in the show although there’s been no official confirmation of when this might be.

The show’s cast is led by Morfydd Clark as Galadriel, alongside Lenny Henry, Ciarán Hinds and Rory Kinnear, with Jack Lowden joining as a young Sauron.

The show has proved divisive among critics so far, but in a four-star review of the new season, NME wrote: “The action comes to a head in an epic battle told across two episodes, balanced against some excellent character work (and surprising deaths). Those who complained that nothing happened in House Of The Dragon’s sophomore effort will thrill at how The Rings Of Power refuses to slump.”

“Indeed, the second season improves on the first, sharpening its narrative and taking assured footsteps forward as the writers continue to tell this expansive tale. Let’s just hope the series doesn’t make like the hobbits and end up going in circles.”

The show’s second season has seen its viewership nearly halve in size according to new data. 

According to data from Samba TV (via Deadline), 902,000 households in the US watched the first premiere episode of the new season within four dates of its debut. This is quite a dip compared to season one, where within three days of viewing, 1.8million households comparatively had seen the first episode.

As yet, Amazon hasn’t shared any of its own data about the viewing figures for the current season. Last year it reported that the show delivered Amazon’s biggest premiere viewership ever at the time. 

Season one of the show also scored highly on Nielsen’s streaming charts – their figures for season two won’t be available just yet however, as they report figures a month after viewing. The most up to date figures from Nielsen are expected to arrive in late September.

Meanwhile, Sir Ian McKellen revealed this week he has no plans to retire following an onstage accident earlier this year – and that he wanted to return to the role of Gandalf, having played Gandalf in both Peter Jackson’s Lord Of The Rings films and the prequel Hobbit trilogy.

A new film, The Hunt For Gollum, is due for release in 2026 with Andy Serkis set to direct and star in the new film. “Enthusiasm for The Lord of the Rings shows no sign of abating,” McKellen told the Big Issue recently. “I can’t tell you any more than that. I’ve just been told there are going to be more films and Gandalf will be involved and they hope that I’ll be playing him.”

“When? I don’t know. What the script is? It’s not written yet. So, they better be quick,” he added. Earlier this year, McKellen said he would consider playing Gandalf in the new film “if I’m alive”.

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