Whether you’re a Ringer or not, you may want to know how to watch The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power online for free to see the series being called the most expensive TV show of all time.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is a prequel to The Lord of the Rings movie series that ran from 2001 to 2014 and included films like The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, as well as The Hobbit films like An Unexpected Journey, The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of the Five Armies. The franchise is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings book series and appendices, which follow the millenniums-old war for the One Ring, a ring created by the Dark Lord Sauron that rules the other rings of Power given to Men, Dwarves and Elves. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is set in the Second of Age of Middle-earth, the world The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is set, and takes place thousands of years before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings movies.
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In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power showrunner Patrick McKay explained that the prequel wasn’t created just because of the popularity of The Lord of the Rings but because it tells its own story unique from The Lord of the Rings movies. “We are not making this just because it’s called Lord of the Rings and people make sequels these days,” McKay said. “We would never have given four years of our lives, 24/7, to this if we didn’t feel that there’s a really good story here that deserves to be told on this enormous scale.”
Time reported in August 2022 that The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power cost a record $1 billion to produce, making it the most expensive TV show ever made. “The jewels of the crown are the big tentpole shows that invite in the whole family,” says Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, told Time. “And this is the crown jewel.” In comparison, Variety reported in 2022 that HBO’s House of Dragon cost around $20 million per episode for its 10 episodes, which amounted to around $200 million in total. Game of Thrones, for its part, cost around $100 million per season. The cost started at around $6 million per episode in season 1 and increased to $15 million per episode for the show’s eighth and final season. According to The Wall Street Journal, Stranger Things season 4 cost Netflix $30 million per episode, which cost a total of $270 million for nine episodes.
So where can fans stream the new Lord of the Rings series? Read on for how to watch The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power online for free to see the show being called the most expensive TV show in history.
Image: Amazon Prime Video.
When do Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power episodes come out?
New episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power come out Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT on Amazon Prime Video.
How to watch Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power online
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video. Amazon Prime Video costs $8.99 per month for non-Amazon Prime members. Amazon Prime Video comes for free with an Amazon Prime subscription, which costs $14.99 per month or $139 per year (a saving of about $36 from the monthly subscription.) Students can also subscribe to Amazon Prime Student for $7.49 per month or $69 per year, which is half the price of the regular subscription and also comes with Amazon Prime Video.
How to watch Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power online for free
Read on for how to watch The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power online for free with Amazon Prime Video‘s free trials and what else to know about the show.
Amazon Prime Video’s free trial is four times longer than most other streaming services. Compared to Paramount+ and Peacock, which offer just seven-day free trials, Amazon Prime Video’s free trial is 30 days. That’s three weeks more than competitors. The free trial also comes with the same benefits of Amazon Prime, such as free two-day shipping, Prime Music and more. But perhaps the best part about Amazon Prime Video’s free trial is that customers can sign up for it multiple times. According to Amazon, users can sign up for Amazon Prime Video’s free trial over and over again as long as it isn’t within the same 12 months. This means that if you if you haven’t been an Amazon Prime member for more than 12 months, you’re eligible to receive another 30 days for free.
After the free trial ends, Amazon Prime Video costs $8.99 per month for non-Prime members. However, if you’re an Amazon Prime member, Amazon Prime Video comes free with Amazon Prime, which includes Prime Delivery (such as free two-day shipping, free same-day shipping, free release-date delivery and free no-rush shipping), as well as access to Prime Music, Prime Gaming and Prime Reading. Amazon Prime costs $14.99 per month or $139 per year, which saves subscribers about $36 from the monthly subscription.
Below are step-by-step instructions for how to sign up for Amazon Prime Video’s free trial.
- Visit Amazon Prime Video’s website
- Click “Start your 30-day free trial“
- Create or log into your Amazon account
- Start watching The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Amazon Prime Video for free
How to read The Lord of the Rings books online for free
The Lord of Rings books by J.R.R. Tolkien are available on Audible Premium Plus, which offers a 30-day free trial and costs $14.99 per month after the free trial ends. Audible Premium Plus comes with one book credit (two book credits for Amazon Prime members), as well as access to Audible’s catalogue of thousands of audiobooks, podcasts, wellness guides and originals.
Image: Amazon Prime Video.
How many episodes is Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power?
There are eight episodes in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The first two episodes premiered on September 1, 2022. Episodes will air Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT until the finale on October 14, 2022.
Who’s in the Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power cast?
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power cast includes Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Miriel, Robert Aramayo as Elrond, and Morfydd Clark as Galadriel. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly in August 2022, Nazanin Boniadi, who plays Bronwyn, explained how the more diverse cast of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, especially compared to the movies, wasn’t “stunt casting.” “This was not stunt casting,” she said. “This isn’t tokenization, or a lot of the things that we’re used to in past roles. Every person has been cast because they are the best people for those roles, regardless of ethnicity and race. And I find that super empowering.”
Ismael Cruz Córdova, who plays Arondir, also told Entertainment Weekly about how starring in a fantasy show like The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has been a lifelong dream. “[I’ve] wanted to be an elf since I was a little kid,” he said. “That was something I really dreamt about, but on the flip side, it was something that was a little painful because there weren’t elves that looked like me. It became a personal but distant dream, up until the moment where this opportunity opened up. So I ferociously went for it.” Addai-Robinson also told Entertainment Weekly about how The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is for fans both new and old. “We’re trying to set up and introduce [this era],” she said. “We are dealing with people who are very well-versed in this information, as well as people who are new to these worlds and new to these stories. That’s a huge task to satisfy both of those audiences.”
See the full The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power cast below.
- Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Míriel
- Robert Aramayo as Elrond
- Owain Arthur as Durin IV
- Maxim Baldry as Isildur
- Nazanin Boniadi as Bronwyn
- Morfydd Clark as Galadriel
- Ismael Cruz Córdova as Arondir
- Charles Edwards as Celebrimbor
- Trystan Gravelle as Pharazôn
- Lenny Henry as Sadoc Burrows
- Ema Horvath as Eärien
- Markella Kavenagh as Elanor “Nori” Brandyfoot
- Simon Merrells as Trevyn
- Tyroe Muhafidin as Theo
- Peter Mullan as Durin III
- Sophia Nomvete as Disa
- Lloyd Owen as Elendil
- Megan Richards as Poppy Proudfellow
- Dylan Smith as Largo Brandyfoot
- Charlie Vickers as Halbrand
- Leon Wadham as Kemen
- Benjamin Walker as Gil-galad
- Sara Zwangobani as Marigold Brandyfoot
Will there be a Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power season 2?
Will there be a season 2 for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power? Time confirmed in August 2022 that the second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will start filming in October 2022. The magazine also reported that season 2 will film in the United Kingdom instead of New Zealand, where season 1 filmed. Time also reported that The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 will be directed by all female directors.
In an interview with The Playlist in August 2022, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power showrunner Patrick McKay hinted that change in locations has to do with the storyline for season 2. “I think if we answered in too much detail, we’d spoil where the journey is going in future episodes. Suffice to say in the story, in Tolkien’s world, journeys to other lands are a major recurring theme. And so I think that’s a thing to think about. The other thing I would say is Tolkien was writing about the British Isles. He was writing about his own backyard and his description of the nature and the air here and the light here and the grass here is a huge part of those books. And I think the opportunity to kind of bring the property home feels like one that’s pregnant with possibilities,” he said.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video. Here’s how to watch it for free.
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