Is Rings of Power Trying to Save Itself By Casting Game of Thrones Vets?
Among the new additions to the cast of season 2 is another face familiar to fans of the HBO series.
The first season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, an American fantasy television series from Amazon Prime Video based on the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, ended in October 2022.
Despite receiving fairly positive reviews from critics, the show was decimated by its fanbase, leaving it with an embarrassing 38% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
However, such underwhelming results did not affect the show's renewal for the second season, and now news has arrived about the new additions to the cast.
It seems that Ciarán Hinds, Rory Kinnear and Tanya Moodie have joined the series.
Kinnear is best known for his role as Bill Tanner in Daniel Craig 's recent James Bond films Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, Spectre and No Time to Die, while Moodie is best known for her role as Meg in the TV series Motherland.
But the most interesting new addition seems to be Ciarán Hinds, who among many other roles is known for his appearance in HBO's Game of Thrones, where he portrayed Mance Rayder, the "King-beyond-the-Wall".
What is curious is that he is now the third cast member to have previously appeared on the hit HBO fantasy series, which raises the question of whether the Rings of Power creators have resorted to hiring TV veterans in order to somehow make up for what many people see as the show's fundamental flaws.
Robert Aramayo, who plays Elrond in the Amazon series, previously appeared as a young Ned Stark in Game of Thrones.
And Joseph Mawle, who portrayed the villain Adar in The Rings of Power, previously played Benjen Stark in the HBO series.
However, Mawle was recast and is now to be replaced by Sam Hazeldine. Many fans were saddened by the news, as Mawle did a great job portraying Adar in the first season and was considered one of the best characters on the show.
Only time will tell if the new additions will save the heavily criticized series, but at least fans are approving of the new cast members, so there is still hope for the show to get better.
Many of them point out that maybe the creators can add some respect for the source material as well.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 is expected to be released in 2024.