Amazon’s ambitious venture into J.R.R. Tolkien’s universe with The Rings of Power is often cited as one of television’s most costly projects. The series, envisioned to span five seasons, faced uncertainty with its third season, which only recently found confirmation. However, the timeline for its release isn’t as promising as fans might hope.

Recently, it was announced that filming for the third season of The Rings of Power has concluded. While this is a positive development, calculating the release date reveals less encouraging news.

• The Rings of Power season 2 wrapped production in June 2023. It then premiered in August 2024. So that’s a full 14 months of post-production, certainly on the long side given how enormously VFX-heavy a series like this is.
• So, if The Rings of Power season 3 just wrapped production now, another 14 months of post production would produce a release date in February 2027. That’s a full two and a half years between seasons. That’s a decent bit longer than the 23 month-gap between seasons 1 and 2.

The delay is partly due to the unusual timing of the third season’s renewal. Although the second season wrapped up in October 2024, it wasn’t until February 2025—four months later—that the green light was given. This delay is surprising, especially for a series initially planned to run for five seasons.

The rationale behind this delay may become clearer when considering the viewership trends. Reports indicate that the audience for the second season was half of what it was for the first. The debut season met with a lukewarm reception, falling short of Amazon’s aspirations to rival Game of Thrones. While the second season improved, it struggled to recover from the initial impression. Given the series’ cinematic production scale—perhaps unmatched on television—Amazon’s continued investment hinges on viewer numbers. If those continue to decline without a reduction in costs, the five-season goal might be jeopardized.

A potential two-and-a-half-year gap between seasons is unlikely to boost viewership, as prolonged waits often erode audience retention, even for top-rated shows (consider Wednesday‘s second season underperforming its predecessor).

The fate of The Rings of Power remains uncertain, and it appears fans will have to wait until at least 2027 to see what lies ahead.

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