Showrunners Sign New Amazon Deal As Work Begins On 'The Rings Of Power' Season 3
Even before season two of The Rings of Power has been released, the showrunners are already making plans for future seasons. After the success of season one, work on season two began almost immediately as the showrunners prepared to continue on the epic story they started. Season 2 wrapped filming in mid-2023, but a trailer has yet to be released, even though it is slated for release later this year. The showrunners have been very tight-lipped about what this season will entail, which made the announcement of work beginning on future seasons surprising.
Showrunners Patrick McKay and JD Payne have signed a new three-year deal with Amazon MGM Studios, continuing on with Amazon. This deal also launches their own production company: 10:40 PM Productions. McKay and Payne have also already started early work on season three, although it is only for the initial story outline so far, as official pre-production and the writer’s room aren’t ready yet. The show’s production hub is also planned to move from Bray Studios to a new production facility in Shepperton Studios in the U.K.
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McKay and Payne wrote and executive produced the first season for Prime Video, as well as season 2, although they were unable to stay for a good portion of the filming due to the Writer’s Strike. Many fans are wary of season two because of the fact that they kept filming even without the writers on set.
The Rings of Power still stands as Amazon’s most-watched original series and in the weeks each episode released, it ranked in the Top 4 of Nielsen’s streaming chart. Vernon Sanders, head of television for Amazon MGM Studios said:
“We began this remarkable journey with JD and Patrick more than five and a half years ago and have never looked back. We continue to be amazed by the scope and scale of their vision and the enormous global success achieved by The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power in its record-breaking first season. We can’t wait for Prime Video customers to experience the epic adventure and high-stakes drama that JD and Patrick are continuing to build throughout season two and beyond. Naturally, the studio is thrilled to extend our overall deal with these brilliant creative minds as they continue to deliver on their passion for great storytelling.”
Hopefully, this deal is a good sign that Payne and McKay will be able to finish out their initial storytelling plan, as it was originally announced to be a story that takes place over several seasons. With this deal, it looks like there is hope for many more stories to come.
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Source(s): hollywoodreporter