Amazon Prime just announced seven new recurring cast members for season two of Rings of Power, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Among the casting news, Amazon also announced the recasting of a significant role for season two. 

Fan-favorite Adar, the Orc leader, is the one being recast. Joseph Mawle (MotherFatherSon, Troy: Fall of a City) who played the part in season one will be stepping down from his role and in his stead, Sam Hazeldine (The Sandman, The Witcher) will be taking the role of Adar for season two. Mawle told Rings of Power fans via Twitter that he was stepping down from his role. 

Best to cast and crew for S2, I’ll be cheering you on from the sidelines X

— Joseph Mawle (@realjosephmawle) December 1, 2022

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the new actors and actresses joining Middle-earth include Gabriel Akuwudike (Hanna, 1917), Yasen “Zates” Atour (Young Wallander, The Witcher), Ben Daniels (The Crown, The Exorcist), Nia Towle (Persuasion), Nicholas Woodeson (Silent Witness, Firebird), and newcomer Amelia Kenworthy. Amazon has kept details of the characters and their role in the story under wraps. 

The head of global television at Amazon Studios, Vernon Sanders, has said that the show brings audiences together to explore and experience the magic and wonder of Tolkien’s extraordinary Middle-earth. He also spoke of how Rings of Power is one of Prime Video’s top original series and that it has been viewed by over 100 million people around the world. Sanders also welcomed the new cast members into the “fellowship” and said that the studio is looking forward to telling more amazing stories from the Second Age in season two. 

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power show centers around the story of the creation of the rings of power, how they came to be, and how they relate to the overall story of Lord of the Rings. The show, which includes multiple perspectives and different narrating characters, focuses mainly on the story of a younger Galadriel, played by Morfydd Clark (Dracula, His Dark Materials), who is convinced that the elves have not defeated Sauron and that they should keep trying to defeat him once and for all. Throughout the show the audience also meets Arondir, played by Ismael Cruz Córdova (The Undoing, Berlin Station), an elf that has been stuck patrolling the small towns of the south for signs of Sauron; Nori, played by Markella Kavenagh (The Gloaming, My First Summer), a Hardfoot who finds a man in the crash site of a meteorite and learns that this stranger, played by Daniel Weyman (Silent Witness, Gentleman Jack) is more powerful than she expected; and, a younger Elrond, played by Robert Aramayo (The King’s Man, Behind Her Eyes), who is helping Lord Celebrimor, played by Charles Edwards (The Crown, Under the Vines), to build a new elvish city with the help of his dwarf friend Prince Durin, played by Owain Arthur (Casualty, A Confession). 

Season two of Rings of Power doesn’t have a release date, but according to The Hollywood Reporter, it will premiere sometime in 2024. Season one of Rings of Power is available to stream on Amazon Prime. The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit trilogy are available to watch on HBO Max.