The Rings of Power's Last Scene of the Final Season is Already Planned
Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is nothing if not ambitious.
And among all the evidence of the showrunners' ambition is the mention that they have, supposedly, already planned the whole series from start to finish, down to the last scene of Season 5.
As the co-showrunner JD Payne said in an interview for Empire:
"We even know what our final shot of the last episode is going to be. The rights that Amazon bought were for a 50-hour show. They knew from the beginning that was the size of the canvas – this was a big story with a clear beginning, middle and end. There are things in the first season that don't pay off until Season 5."
So, fans of the The Rings of Power should stop worrying about whether the showrunners actually have a plan. They certainly do have an epic story mapped, covering major events from the history of Middle-earth – including the forging of the titular rings, the rise of Sauron, and almost certainly the fall of Numenor.
"It was like Tolkien put some stars in the sky and let us make out the constellations," Payne explains. "In his letters [particularly in one to his publisher], Tolkien talked about wanting to leave behind a mythology that 'left scope for other minds and hands, wielding the tools of paint, music and drama.' We're doing what Tolkien wanted. As long as we felt like every invention of ours was true to his essence, we knew we were on the right track."
Whether all of this indicates healthy amounts of ambition and devotion to their work, or hubris worthy of Sauron himself, still remains to be seen – take note, that the interview cited above was taken before the premiere of the series.
Since then, Season 1 had earned much criticism from almost every direction, and there are serious doubts whether the extent of its success justifies enormous support and funding it received from Amazon. Amazon Studios is betting a lot on the series, and production of The Rings of Power Season 2 had already started, at least, but having rights for five seasons and plans for five seasons does not guarantee that the series will make it that far.
We can expect The Rings of Power season 2 sometime in 2024.