Lord of the Rings – The Rings of Power: major recasting announced for Orc villain

When Amazon’s Lord of the Rings prequel, The Rings of Power, returns for season two, it will do so with one of the major villain roles recast. Joseph Mawle, who played the Orc leader Adar, will not be returning, with Peaky Blinders’ star Sam Hazeldine replacing him in the role. No reason was given by Prime Video, who announced the change this morning along with a string of new castings.

This is a shame, as Mawle was definitely a highlight of the show, with him oozing menace as the main Orc villain. While the role may be less prominent in future seasons, it’s always problematic recasting an actor, as seen recently when the internet erupted in a furor over Liam Hemsworth replacing Henry Cavill on The Witcher from Season 4 onwards. While Mawle was hardly the show’s star, his absence will be felt but fans, I’m sure.

In addition to Hazeldine, The Crown vet Ben Daniels will join the series, along with a whole slew of new additions. None of the roles have been announced yet, but in addition to Daniels, the cast will now include veteran actor Nicolas Woodeson, Nia Towle (Netflix’s Persuasion), newcomer Amelia Kenworthy, Yasen ‘Zates’ Atour (The Witcher) and Gabriel Akuwudike (Amazon’s Hanna).

According to the press release, The Rings of Power has been a considerable success for Prime Video, with the show having been viewed by more than 100 million people worldwide, adding up to more than 24 billion minutes streamed. The release also reveals that the show was Prime Video’s biggest-ever debut, with 25 million global viewers sampling the show on its first day. Of course, with streaming, it’s hard to gauge exactly how big of a hit something is, but whatever the case, The Rings of Power is full-steam ahead for a second season.

Perhaps to encourage people to rewatch the first season, Prime Video added a slew of bonus features for the show, just in time for the holidays. According to a separate release from Prime Video, they’ve added new bonus features. You can stream the show’s official podcast and Bear McCreary’s full score on Amazon Music.

Will you be rewatching the series at some point? Let us know in the comments!