Is The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Canceled?

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is currently gearing up for its second season, yet online buzz insists that Amazon MGM Studios is about to axe the show. So, is The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power canceled, or have the doomsayers been huffing too much pipeweed?

Related: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Who Plays Sauron in Season 2?

Has Amazon MGM Studios Canceled The Rings of Power?

No, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power isn’t canceled – not at this stage, at least. It’s not hard to see why some folks are convinced that Season 2 will be the Middle-earth series’ last, though. The Rings of Power Season 1 reportedly underperformed, with a decent chunk of Prime Video subscribers giving up before reaching its eighth and final episode. There was also talk of Amazon demoting Rings of Power co-creators and co-showrunners, J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay, and both were indeed sidelined during post-production on Season 2. None of this paints an overly rosy picture of The Rings of Power‘s future.

Related: When Does Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 Come Out?

But there are a few caveats to the above. First of all, Amazon insists it’s happy with The Rings of Power Season 1’s viewership numbers. “This desire to paint the show as anything less than a success — it’s not reflective of any conversation I’m having internally,” studio boss Jennifer Salke told The Hollywood Reporter in April 2023. Then there’s Payne and McKay’s absence late in Season 2’s production cycle. This wasn’t something Amazon mandated; it was tied to the 2023 WGA strike, instead. Not only are Payne and McKay still in post, but they recently signed a new contract with Amazon and are reportedly mapping out The Rings of Power Season 3 already.

Could Amazon still pull the plug on The Rings of Power, if Season 2 flops? Absolutely. But for now, it remains an active production.

How Long Is The Rings of Power Supposed to Run?

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is slated to run for five seasons. That’s the length of the story Payne and McKay outlined to Amazon when they successfully pitched the show. “We even know what our final shot of the last episode is going to be,” Payne told Empire in an October 2022 interview. “The rights that Amazon bought were for a 50-hour show. They knew from the beginning that was the size of the canvas – this was a big story with a clear beginning, middle, and end. There are things in the first season that don’t pay off until Season 5.”

Related: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Is Barad-dûr in Season 2?

And Amazon certainly seems committed to seeing Payne and McKay’s five-season plan through to the end, if senior personnel’s numerous public statements are anything to go by. Not even the impending arrival of Warner Bros. slate of Lord of the Rings movies is enough to give them pause. “We’ll see [how audiences respond to competing Lord of the Rings adaptations],” Salke said in a February 2023 Variety interview. “We love our original series. We’re extremely proud of it, and invested long-term. So, we definitely think there’s enough fan love to sustain ours for a long time.”

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 premieres on Prime Video on August 29, 2024.