Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series is apparently emulating Sauron: Using misinformation to throw Rings of Power fans off the straight and narrow ahead of season 2.
Although The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is heading into season 2 on Amazon Prime this year, we still haven’t gotten any official insight into the fantasy return beyond dark promises. Now it’s also come to light that staff on the show have been deliberately misleading fans about Sauron developments in the run-up
Lord of the Rings series takes a cue from Sauron as master of deception ahead of season 2
Secrecy is a top priority in Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series. While false film crews were sent out as a diversionary maneuver during the filming of season 1 in New Zealand, those involved in season 2 apparently shifted to a new strategy that would have made even villain Sauron proud. As the fan site Fellowship of Fans reported, targeted misinformation about Sauron was spread – for two reasons:
EXCLUSIVE: The Fake AI Sauron concept art used by certain production members in The Rings of Power Season 2 to catch out leakers.
2 Season 1 TheRingsOfPower concept artists confirmed that these are indeed AI and more likely to catch people out than to actually be used.
We… pic.twitter.com/uS5bAiJNe8
– Fellowship of Fans (@FellowshipFans) April 2, 2024
Firstly, there are leaks in almost all major productions and so employees of the Lord of the Rings series also secretly passed on information to the outside world. In order to find these anonymous leakers in their own ranks, a wide variety of false series developments are said to have been spread, especially about Sauron. The “concept images” embedded above are just a few examples of this. So does this mean that Sauron isn’t seducing villagers with a fork (?) or burning down houses with a new wife at his side (Amelia Kenworthy)?
On the other hand, the information about Fake Sauron is also said to have served the purpose of testing the waters of public opinion on certain story developments. Would Lord of the Rings fans approve or condemn certain decisions? What insights Amazon’s creatives have drawn from the observed leak discussions for season 2 of The Rings of Power, we can unfortunately not estimate.
What Season 2 information about Sauron do Lord of the Rings fans need to re-evaluate?
One piece of Sauron information in particular, which was leaked in advance, turned out to be false: the reports that Gavi Singh Chera would portray a second version of Sauron in The Rings of Power are apparently not true. Instead, the season 2 newcomer is set to play a character whose demographic we have yet to see in the series. Perhaps a Southerner?
Join us in welcoming Gavi Singh Chera to the cast of TheRingsOfPower! (3/8) pic.twitter.com/Qdni0XmRYa
– The Lord of the Rings on Prime (@LOTRonPrime) December 7, 2022
The additional rumor circulating that Sauron takes the form of Galadriel’s husband Celeborn in season 2 is also incorrect. Whether the misleading information about Sauron’s second form means that we will not see Charlie Vickers’ character as a shapeshifter after all is again unclear. However, the production will continue to use the alternative Sauron name Annatar.
What awaits us at the end of the return of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power remains full of surprises and twists – just as we were promised for season 2.
