The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power announced quite a line-up for the upcoming season including seven new actors joining the cast. We know filming began for season two of Amazon’s hit new series a few months back. This is among the first news we’ve received with details about casting. You’ll see some fresh faces in Middle-earth, but one face won’t be returning. The show announced a new actor to play the role of the orc leader, Adar, in the upcoming season.
We hope you didn’t get too attached, because get ready for a switch up in Middle-earth. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power announced Sam Hazeldine is replacing Joseph Mawle as Adar in the upcoming season two.
According to Entertainment Weekly, the show offered no comments to the news of the recasting.
Deadline reported,
“The recasting decision was made months ago, and Mawle did not participate in any of the worldwide promotional events for the series.”
— Deadline
Sam Hazeldine joins the show with a very extensive background. Hazeldine stars in projects that include The Huntsman: Winter’s War, The Hitman’s Bodyguard, and The War Below. You may also recognize him from Slow Horses, The Sandman, and Peaky Blinders. Hazeldine is no stranger to the screen, which is good news for all of us!
Season one left us all feeling so many emotions between finding out who Sauron is to learning who The Stranger is (we won’t give anything away, but you can read about it here). It will be interesting to see how the showrunners bring in this new face to play such an important role we’ve all met.
Want to know who will be joining us in Middle-earth next season? See the full cast announcement here!