The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power had a cliffhanger ending for season 1. While fans are eager for the second season, Amazon Studios already has its sights set on Season 3 for the Middle-earth TV series.

Amazon planned a total of five seasons for the show based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s second age of Middle-earth. With the success of the first season and the filming of the second, the show's third season is all but guaranteed.

Amazon Studios head Vernon Sanders recently spoke to Deadline about The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. One question that came up was the renewal of the show for a third season.

"We are absolutely committed, we have every reason to be excited," Sanders said. "They’ve done a tremendous job."

"It’s a great question about Season 3, we’re probably two to three months in on Season 3, but I think there could be news certainly in the new year. There’s so much planning and prep that’s necessary for us to get this mounted that the only reason we probably haven’t gotten there quite yet is we’ve just been so heads down in Season 2, but I would expect there to be news in the new year," Sanders continues.

While Sanders did not give a definitive timeline for the show’s renewal, it is widely expected that Amazon would push through with the planned five seasons. The company has allotted $1 billion towards the production of the series.

Amazon already spent $462 million on the first season of the series and $250 million more towards acquiring the rights to the material from the Tolkien estate.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay have reportedly mapped out the entirety of the series. Many other TV series don't plan as far as two seasons into the future let alone five. This implies that the showrunners are confident that Amazon will dig deep into its coffers to give the show a proper conclusion, whenever that may be.

Production on Season 2 is well underway as filming commenced in October. We expect to for Sauron to be more involved in the second season as his identity was revealed during the season 1 finale.

Sanders teased that Season 2 will have bigger battles and iconic moments from the books. "Yes, I can say you will see bigger battles in season two including some iconic moments from the appendices and the books."

Season 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is expected to be released sometime in 2024.