The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power showrunner Patrick McKay teases Sauron’s expanded role in season 2. Created by McKay and J.D. Payne, Prime Video’s Lord of the Rings series premiered in 2022, chronicling the rise of evil in Middle-earth during the more peaceful Second Age. After the shocking reveal in the season 1 finale that Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) is Sauron, The Rings of Power season 2 is set to feature the character really coming into his own as a force for destruction by adopting an Elven appearance and the name Annatar.

In a recent interview with Empire, McKay teases Sauron’s evil plan in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2. In season 1, Sauron was “hiding amongst our story,” the showrunner says, but this dynamic is set to totally shift in the next batch of episodes, and disparate storylines will eventually converge. Check out McKay’s comment and a new image of Sauron below:

“The opportunity now with Season 2 is: the audience is in on the con. We know who he is. We have a pretty good sense of what he wants. The fun is watching other people get ensnared in the web. As the season unfolds, the plan starts. One hammer after another starts to fall until, by the last couple of episodes, you realise the level and extent of how evil he is and how deeply he’s strategised this whole thing out.”

“All our stories start to become one story, and the one story is the way the re-emergence of Sauron touches everybody and threatens the whole world.”

Sauron Will Be Even More Dangerous In The Rings Of Power Season 2

The Season 1 Finale Paves The Way For An Exciting Arc

Sauron’s identity remains a central question throughout most of The Rings of Power season 1. The character, for the most part, seems to be finding his footing in the show’s debut episodes, staying in hiding while his power level remains relatively low. With the final shot of Sauron in the Rings of Power season 1 finale being his founding of Mordor, it’s clear, however, that he has big plans for Middle-earth. Part of this plan has already been teased in the season 2 trailer with the stronghold of Barad-dûr making an appearance.

With audiences now let in on Sauron’s identity and plan, the character can become much more active. The show no longer needs to shield the character’s intentions or goals. Using his new disguise as Annatar in The Rings of Power season 2, Sauron will work with Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) to forge more Rings of Power. The introduction of these rings, as the prologue of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring reveals, ultimately only sows division in Middle-earth as they make their wearers more easily corruptible and power-hungry.

While Adar essentially served as the central antagonist in season 1, Sauron can now become the true threat, and the figure that unites the larger The Rings of Power cast of characters. The showrunners have already teased that a major battle sequence is to come later in the season and that this battle will claim the lives of some major characters. If Sauron himself is responsible for a major character death, it will certainly help to establish him as a worthy villain as The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power moves forward.