{"id":41914,"date":"2026-04-05T12:55:37","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T04:55:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=41914"},"modified":"2026-04-05T12:55:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T04:55:37","slug":"the-rings-of-power-creatives-reportedly-assured-they-will-get-to-finish-the-story-despite-huge-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=41914","title":{"rendered":"The Rings of Power Creatives Reportedly Assured They Will Get to Finish the Story Despite Huge Costs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is reportedly on-track to run for five seasons, with the $1 billion Prime Video show said to be still under the protection of Amazon boss Jeff Bezos\u2019 \u201cmagical halo.\u201d <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">A new report from Lesley Goldberg in The Ankler shines a light on Amazon\u2019s vision for Prime Video, which is seemingly still in flux. In that report is word that The Rings of Power, which is still awaiting a release date for Season 3, will make it to Season 5, as per Amazon\u2019s initial deal for the rights.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">This is despite the huge costs associated with producing and marketing the expansive, visual effects-heavy fantasy show, which The Ankler believes is TV\u2019s first $1 billion series.<\/p>\n<p><output class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\" data-cy=\"article-video\"\/><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">It seems Amazon boss Jeff Bezos is personally keen for it to continue, no matter the cost. \u201cThat\u2019s still under Bezos\u2019 magical halo,\u201d a source told The Ankler. \u201cThat\u2019s protected for its run.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Amazon TV boss Peter Friedlander is said to have visited the set and provided an assurance that the creatives will get the chance to finish the story, although there\u2019s a line in the report that that may be done in \u201cfour seasons or five.\u201d Season 3 is reportedly due to hit Prime Video later in 2026. However, it sounds like plans for a spinoff are dead, according to The Ankler.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">In 2018, Amazon beat Netflix for a $250 million rights deal with the Tolkien estate, publisher HarperCollins, and New Line Cinema that included a five-season commitment to bring The Lord of the Rings to TV screens. But there had been some concern about its future, given the huge costs involved and viewership numbers for Season 2.<\/p>\n<p><output class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\" data-cy=\"article-slideshow\"><button type=\"button\" style=\"display:none\" class=\"jsx-2228525885\"\/><span data-cy=\"slideshow-view-trigger\"><\/p>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-preview\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 slideshow-preview\">\n<h3 class=\"title5 jsx-62124236 jsx-1085005187\" data-cy=\"slideshow-preview-title\">The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 3 Casting Announcement<\/h3>\n<div data-cy=\"slideshow-images-container\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 images-container\"><button type=\"button\" data-cy=\"hero-image\" aria-label=\"Open Slideshow\" class=\"jsx-1711207865 hero-image\"><img alt=\"Andrew Richardson. Image credit Ivan Weiss.\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"progressive-image jsx-2021719738 image aspect-ratio aspect-ratio-16-9 jsx-2605834259 jsx-2338608387 hover-opacity\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" data-cy=\"progressive-image\"\/><span class=\"button-text jsx-729543028 button button--primary jsx-3381835873 jsx-4266531355 row-pagination-button next contained centered round large\" data-cy=\"paginate next\" title=\"Open Slideshow\"><span class=\"ign-icon right-chevron jsx-2750866048 jsx-2919720488\" role=\"presentation\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-cy=\"right-chevron\" style=\"mask:url(https:\/\/kraken.ignimgs.com\/_next\/static\/media\/RightChevron.272be43c.svg?cors=1) no-repeat center center \/ contain;background:currentColor\"\/><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/output><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">In October last year, The Ankler reported that Amazon TV was \u201ctrapped\u201d in a \u201cLord of the Rings nightmare\u201d as a result of what it described as \u201can insanely high kill fee to the Tolkien estate.\u201d According to that report, The Rings of Power Season 1 episodes cost $20 million each, but that figure fell for Seasons 2 and 3. Season 1 in total cost north of $465 million, The Ankler said, although it\u2019s worth noting that doesn\u2019t include the $250 million Amazon spent on the rights, or marketing and promotion.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">The new information in this report is that the Tolkien estate is apparently due a $20 million per season kill fee if Amazon fails to deliver on its original five season plan. Sources speaking to The Ankler last year suggested Amazon should cancel the show and move on, insisting it overpaid for Lord of the Rings in the first place. Apparently shows such as Reacher and Fallout are bigger hits than The Rings of Power and cost a lot less to make.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">All eyes are on Amazon to announce The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 3 release date, and perhaps in the same breath confirm plans for Seasons 4 and 5. Until then, we have a glimpse at what to expect via a short clip that shows Elendil (once again played by Peter McKenzie) training for battle. In costume, we then see the actor picking up the legendary blade Narsil, and readying himself while standing on a shoreline.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Elendil received Narsil in The Rings of Power&#8217;s most recent episode, Shadow and Flame, the series&#8217; second season finale which aired in October 2024. Still in N\u00famenor, Elendil is given the sword by deposed Queen M\u00edriel and told to leave and reclaim his lordship \u2014 something which he&#8217;s now off presumably doing.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><em>Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/thats-still-under-bezos-magical-halo-the-lord-of-the-rings-the-rings-of-power-reportedly-remains-on-track-for-5-seasons-at-amazon-as-it-becomes-tvs-first-1-billion-series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is reportedly on-track to run for five seasons, with the $1 billion Prime Video show said&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41915,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[9279,4113,10088,2924,1560,1214,3465,2034,1199],"class_list":["post-41914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech-gadgets-reviews","tag-assured","tag-costs","tag-creatives","tag-finish","tag-huge","tag-power","tag-reportedly","tag-rings","tag-story","wpcat-32-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=41914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41914\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/41915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=41914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=41914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=41914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}