New Images Introduce Ben Daniels in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' Season 2

The first season of Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power ended with jewelry. Viewers finally saw the forging of three of the great rings, the trio of bands that belong to the elves. But while we know two of them now belong to Galadriel and High King Gil-galad, we haven't yet met the character who will take possession of the third. Well, that's about to change in Season 2.

Ben Daniels (The Crown) has been cast as Cirdan the Shipwright, a figure who doesn't have a massive role in The Lord of the Rings but who looms large in the world of Tolkien's history. As the Master of the Grey Havens, he is one of the eldest and wisest of the elves and will bear the third band, Narya, the Ring of Fire. (Fun fact: This ring will eventually become Gandalf's.) 

A master shipbuilder, Cirdan serves as an intermediary between Middle-earth and the Undying Lands of Valinor. As the leader of the Elvish port city known as the Grey Havens, he is in charge of creating the ships that ferry elves who have grown tired of Middle-earth back to their homeland. The last chapter of The Lord of the Rings is titled "The Grey Havens" because the story ends with Frodo, Gandalf, and the rest of the ring-bearers — including Cirdan himself — departing Middle-earth at the conclusion of the Third Age.  

Per the Amazon Prime description of his character, Cirdan is seen as a font of wisdom, even among the High Elves, and will mentor Elrond in Season 2. 

Cirdan isn't the only famous character from Tolkien lore who is set to make his debut in Rings of Power Season 2. Rory Kinnear (The Diplomat) is set to play the infamous Tom Bombadil, a mysterious, fan-favorite character known primarily for his decision to help rescue the hobbits in the book The Fellowship of the Ring, though he did not take sides in the battle against Sauron. Now it appears he will offer some sort of assistance to the Rings of Power's mysterious Stranger in Season 2.

A bizarre, enigmatic being who likes to sing nonsense songs and wear colorful clothes, even Tolkien himself was never entirely clear on who or what Tom Bombadil was. Ancient and near immortal, his presence pre-dates most (if not all) life on Arda, and theories on his identity cast him as everything from a symbol of nature to another member of the Valar, or even one of the Ainur, the angelic beings who helped shape the earth. 

Though Middle-earth enthusiasts everywhere are well familiar with Tom Bombadil's mannerisms, Kinnear's portrayal will mark the first time the character has appeared in a filmed adaptation of Tolkien's works.

"Season one set the pieces on the chessboard, and in season two the pieces are in motion and it’s really about the villains,” Rings of Power showrunner J.D. Payne told Vanity Fair. “You’ve got Sauron, who is not cloaked behind the guise of [the human refugee] Halbrand anymore. The audience knows he’s Sauron, so now we’re watching him maneuver as he’s manipulating Adar, who’s another big villain of the season. Tom is sort of a curiosity within that structure because while it is darker, Tom Bombadil is singing and saying lines that could be nursery rhymes from children’s poems. So he sort of defies the tonal shift of the rest of the season and is a real point of light amidst an otherwise sea of darkness.”

Here's the Season 2 description: 

In Season Two of The Rings of Power, Sauron has returned. Cast out by Galadriel, without army or ally, the rising Dark Lord must now rely on his own cunning to rebuild his strength and oversee the creation of the Rings of Power, which will allow him to bind all the peoples of Middle-earth to his sinister will. Building on Season One’s epic scope and ambition, the new season plunges even its most beloved and vulnerable characters into a rising tide of darkness, challenging each to find their place in a world that is increasingly on the brink of calamity. Elves and dwarves, orcs and men, wizards and Harfoots… as friendships are strained and kingdoms begin to fracture, the forces of good will struggle ever more valiantly to hold on to what matters to them most of all… each other

The series' positively sprawling cast features Morfydd Clark as Galadriel, Robert Aramayo as Elrond, Benjamin Walker as High King Gil-galad, Charles Edwards as Celebrimbor, Maxim Baldry as Isildur, Ema Horvath as Eärien, Lloyd Owen as Elendil, Trystan Gravelle as Pharazôn, Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Queen Regent Míriel, Peter Mullan as Dwarf king Durin III, Nazanin Boniadi as Bronwyn, Ismael Cruz Córdova as the Silvan-elf Arondir, and Daniel Weyman as the Stranger (who may or may not be Gandalf). 

Along with Daniels and Kinnear, there are several other Season 2 additions to the cast whose roles have not been disclosed. They include Ciarán Hinds (The Dry), Will Keen (His Dark Materials), Kevin Eldon (My Lady Jane), Calam Lynch (Bridgerton), Stuart Bowman (Guilt), Nicholas Woodeson (Quiz), Tanya Moodie (Rain Dogs), and Gabriel Akuwudike (Ridley Road).

 J.D. Payne & Patrick McKay are both returning as showrunners and executive producers for Season 2. Directors for this batch of episodes include the return of Charlotte Brändström along with Sanaa Hamri and Louise Hooper.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 will premiere on Friday, August 29, on Prime Video with two episodes, with one a week to follow every Friday through October 24, 2024.