'The next piece of the puzzle': The Rings of Power's Charlie Vickers has some big hopes for Sauron's season 3 arc – and one includes making the One Ring

Exclusive: 'I don't know whether that'll happen, but I hope it does'

News By Tom Power published 3 October 2024

Full spoilers follow for The Rings of Power season 2 finale. Potential spoilers also follow for season 3 and The Lord of the Rings books.

The Rings of Power star Charlie Vickers has three big hopes for Sauron heading into the show's third season – and the One Ring's creation isn't the one he's "most looking forward" to.

Ahead of The Rings of Power season 2's final episode, I sat down with Vickers to discuss this season's concluding chapter and where he wants Sauron's story to go next. Season 3 hasn't been officially announced but, with its showrunners and writers "working on it" as of late August and rumors circulating online that it'll be renewed for another season, a third installment seems to be a safe bet. 

Thoughts, then, are unsurprisingly turning towards the high fantasy series' next outing. Vickers, who plays Sauron in the hit Prime Video show, is among those wondering where the Dark Lord's journey will go from here. Indeed, Sauron's backstory is covered extensively in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings books and wider literary works. But, if The Rings of Power's first two seasons have taught viewers anything, it's to expect changes – big and small – in Amazon's TV adaptation compared to what plays out in the source material.

Chief among those creative deviations was that the One Ring, the legendary artefact Sauron crafts to try and control those who wield the other 17 rings, wasn't forged alongside its brethren in season 2. However, with Sauron now in possession of Fëanor's hammer and experienced in the art of ring-making, Vickers believes it's inevitable that the One Ring will be created in season 3.

"It seems like the next logical step," Vickers mused when I asked him whether he expected Sauron to make the One Ring next season. "When you look through this time period [the Second Age] in the books, I can see that the show might go in that direction. That's something that would be really exciting, but then the questions I'm constantly asking myself now is 'When Sauron goes Númenor, what happens to the One Ring?' and 'Would Pharazôn imprison Sauron while he's wearing the One Ring?'. Maybe Pharazôn doesn't know the power of the One Ring but, yes, the One Ring's creations seems like the next piece of the puzzle."

Vickers' reference to Sauron's eventual return to Númenor – remember, he visited it in season 1, albeit under the disguise of Halbrand, alongside Galadriel – is a hugely important moment in Middle-earth's Second Age. Whether it happens in season 3 or beyond, then, his voyage back to the soon-to-bedoomed island kingdom is an unavoidable and vital story beat that'll play out at some point in one of the best Prime Video shows.

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