Realizing that the most expensive television show ever isn’t going to make itself, The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power has begun forging season four ahead of season three, which debuts later this year. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the series has begun development of season four, months ahead of the show’s third season premiere, with shooting reportedly set to begin in early 2027. If true, and Prime Video begins releasing Rings Of Power like a normal, scheduled television program, it would break that “Hey, Rings Of Power is back” bi-yearly release schedule that hasn’t done the show any favors. The breaks between TV seasons have been a constant complaint from audiences over the last few years, and the delays have only hurt some of TV’s biggest shows like Stranger Things and House Of The Dragon. Not in terms of viewership, but the long waits have made fans more critical of the final product. Even worse for Prime, the delays left the door open for a whole other Lord Of The Rings franchise to return and leapfrog Rings Of Power in terms of excitement and conversation. In 2024, Warner Bros. Discovery released the animated prequel, The War Of The Rohirrim, so the studio could retain the adaptation rights, which it was more than happy to use to announce a prequel and a sequel to Peter Jackson’s beloved Lord Of The Rings trilogy. The first of those films, directed by Andy Serkis, The Hunt For Gollum, reunites much of the cast of the Oscar-winning trilogy, while essentially remaking a popular fan film from 2009. That film is set to hit theaters in December 2027, with a sequel, co-written by Stephen Colbert, Shadow Of The Past, likely arriving a year or two later. So, all’s to say, had Prime Video treated Rings Of Power like a normal, yearly television show, it’d likely be wrapping up its entire run before Hunt For Gollum‘s debut. Instead, the two properties will spend the next couple of years confusing audiences. Rings Of Power season three premieres on Prime Video on November 11.