Rings of Power Season 3 Set Visit: Heatwave Hits Dwarf Beards as One Ring Is Forged

Variety visited the Shepperton Studios set of Prime Video's "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" in late June, during a U.K. heatwave with temperatures above 90 degrees. Cast and crew carried mini fans, and hair and make-up designer Flora Moody said Eddie Marsan's beard came off during a close-up. Season 3 jumps five years ahead, and Moody said she increased the amount of hair on screen, so the yak-hair dwarf beards are now heavier and more likely to slip when glue mixes with sweat. Prosthetics designer Barrie Gower said the team spends the day trying to stop pieces peeling off. Costume designer Libby Dempster described battery-powered ice vests, and Marsan, who plays the dwarf Thrain, said they were used.

On the story, the season includes Sauron forging the One Ring. Showrunner Patrick McKay called the scene the most technically complicated sequence the show has attempted. Charlie Vickers appears as Sauron after two seasons in disguise. Co-showrunner J.D. Payne said the season brings back Galadriel's husband Celeborn, played by Jamie Campbell Bower. Robert Aramayo, who plays Elrond, said the character is constantly tested.

The production has moved into the expanded Shepperton Studios, using nine of its 17 new soundstages, and McKay said it will stay there. The report notes the show is widely considered the most expensive TV series, with a reported cost near $1 billion, and that audiences fell 60% between Seasons 1 and 2. Season 4 has not been officially approved, though Amazon originally committed to five seasons.