Will Rings of Power Season 2 Release Date Be Affected by WGA Strike?
Amazon hurried to complete shooting for Season 2.
Despite the backlash from ardent J. R. R. Tolkien and Peter Jackson's film adaptations fans, the first season of Amazon's original series, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, has enjoyed commercial success, becoming the most-watched show on Amazon Prime Video and receiving fairly good reviews from critics.
However, with the Writers Guild of America strike currently in full force, Amazon seems to be facing a problem bigger than the complaints from the Middle-earth lore pedants. Thousands of writers all across the country are now picketing, refusing to continue their work until the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers addresses their demands and raises salaries.
The strike has caused the biggest disruption in film and TV series production since COVID-19, but is it going to affect Amazon's The Rings of Power?
The series' Season 2 was ordered back in November 2019, and work on the script began in 2020 while the first season's production was suspended due to the pandemic. Filming began in October 2022, shortly after Season 1 was released, and it was reported that production for Season 2 was wrapped up earlier this month.
It looks like the script was finished long before the WGA strike broke out, so while the show's writers may be on the picket lines right now, Amazon can go on to finish the new season and release it as per schedule. Also, it appears that The Rings of Power will not be affected by a potential actors' strike, should SAG-AFTRA decide to join the WGA.
Although filming for Season 2 has wrapped, there may be some scenes that need to be reshot, which could mean that the writers will need to be on set. However, Amazon will likely try to avoid the reshoots, as they surely want to finish the second season and get it released as soon as possible.
None of this information has been confirmed by Amazon's official reps or the series' cast and crew members. But if filming has indeed wrapped and the show is in post-production, we can expect the new season of The Rings of Power to come out early next year, unless Amazon decides to do reshoots and push back the release date.