There's no disguising the fact that Amazon's show The Rings of Power is one of the biggest television productions ever – frankly, Amazon's been shouting about that fact right from the start. It certainly has spent enough cash on the project.
Now, though, we're just a matter of days away from being able to see just what a second metric boatload of money has created in the form of the show's second season, which starts on 29 August and just got another major trailer – which you can watch below.
It shows off more footage of the rampage that the newly unveiled Sauron is going to go on through Middle-Earth with his forces, alongside glimpses of the first season's cast trying to deal with that chaos.
From elves being visibly tempted by the power of rings offered by the dark lord, to unlikely alliances between bands of his abandoned troops and some of our protagonists, it looks like there's a lot of plot to get through. Indeed, there are also clearly going to be some battles on a completely different scale to the more contained fighting that came in the first season.
In response, fans are getting excited in the YouTube comments; one said: "The trailers look 1000 times better than the first season". Another agreed: "Looks way better than the first season."
Your next few weeks belong to Sauron. pic.twitter.com/RucO99XISoAugust 19, 2024
Now, Amazon has also published a handy primer of when the season's eight episodes will be arriving, starting with a three-episode premiere and then progressing with new arrivals each week. That'll keep you busy right through until October, then.
The first season of The Rings of Power was a bit of a mixed bag, with lavish production values perhaps undermined by slightly ponderous pacing and some plotlines that didn't feel quite as vital as others. Unlike some other shows that seem to be on the chopping block all the time, though, it seems like Amazon's unlikely to back away from its blockbuster series.
So, if you've never sampled The Rings of Power, you've probably still got time to blast through its first season before the next one starts – or if you've been eagerly awaiting more episodes in the hopes of an upturn in quality, the finish line is in sight.
You can circle those dates in your diary as a weekly Rings night and start speculating about just what twists and turns might be in store for us. And if you're a fan then you'll be praising Amazon as one of the best streaming services in 2024 as a result.
