Has Rings of Power been canceled after Season 2’s lower viewership? Absolutely not, according to Amazon Studios boss Jennifer Salke.
When Rings of Power premiered in 2022, it was immediately compared to House of the Dragon. Both shows launched at the same time, and while they aired on different days, it became a competition.
Let’s just say, HBO won. The first season broke viewership records on Prime Video, but its low completion rate and reception with fans didn’t paint the best picture.
Rings of Power Season 2 was a huge improvement (as our review attests), but its audience dropped by almost 50% compared to Season 1’s premiere, and we still don’t know what percentage of viewers stuck with it all the way to last week’s finale.
Fear not, because Amazon’s head honcho just confirmed Rings of Power Season 3 is going ahead.
Speaking to Variety, Salke was asked if there was any change to the streaming service’s 50-episode commitment to the series.
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“I don’t think so. [That] commitment is never the thing that’s driving what we’re doing,” she explained.
“We’ll continue to make the show as long as we see global customers loving it and watching it to the point where – it is a business. Obviously, we need a large amount of people showing up. And there are a large amount of people, so there’s no debate about whether or not the show will continue.”
Salke even teased the possibility of Amazon acquiring Embracer, the company that owns the vast majority of Tolkien’s IP. “We’re always talking about those opportunities but I don’t have anything to share [right now],” she said.
Showrunners Patrick McKay and JD Payne haven’t given away any details about the third season. “All we can say is, we’re working on it. We’re cooking. Let us cook,” they said.
If you’re still thinking about Middle-earth, read our interview with Gandalf actor Daniel Weyman, find out what Nori’s actor had to say about the theory she’ll found the Shire, and how Sauron star Charlie Vickers improvised the Season 2 finale’s most emotional scene.
