It’s been almost a full year since The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power aired its Season 2 finale, and now the hit Prime Video fantasy series is back with its first official look at Season 3. The official Rings of Power X account shared the first sneak peek at Season 3, showing the fabled sword of the Faithful, or Narsil, which is wielded by King Elendil, who is portrayed by Lloyd Owen in the Prime Video series. The late Peter McKenzie played Elendil in the Lord of the Rings movies directed by Peter Jackson.

Prime Video has yet to confirm when The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will debut its third season, but now that the show has progressed enough to begin showing first looks, it will likely be sometime next year. In addition to Lloyd Owen as Elendil, Morfydd Clark also stars in The Rings of Power as Galadriel, and opposite her is Charlie Vickers as Halbrand, who is later revealed to be Sauron. Other names to feature in recurring roles in The Rings of Power include Charles Edwards as Lord Celebrimbor, Ismael Cruz Cordova as Arondir, Robert Aramayo as Elrond, and Daniel Weyman as The Stranger.

Critics have had the same thoughts on Rings of Power through both of its first two seasons. Most agree that it doesn’t live up to the highs provided by Peter Jackson in earlier years, but it’s still a solid adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s famous literary works. However, audiences have not been hot on The Rings of Power, and the show has been subject to rampant review bombing. Despite equally solid scores of 84% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes for two seasons, audiences’ verdict on The Rings of Power falls to a Rotten 49% on the Popcornmeter.

Prime Video Canceled Another Beloved Fantasy Series

Fans have The Rings of Power Season 3 to look forward to, but Prime Video has treated another of its fantasy adaptations very differently. The streamer recently canned the beloved Wheel of Time after three full seasons, despite all cast and crew members being optimistic about coming back for another season. The studio has also confirmed that there are no plans to shop The Wheel of Time to other streamers or networks, meaning that any chance of revival is likely dead in the water, despite a fan petition to save the show.

via Collider