The Rings of Power adds Game of Thrones and Star Wars actors to season 2

Mance Rayder (Ciaran Hinds) in Game of Thrones
(Image credit: HBO)

Amazon has announced that three new actors will be joining the cast of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 – including Game of Thrones and Star Wars alumni.

Ciarán Hinds, Rory Kinnear, and Tanya Moodie will appear in undisclosed "recurring" roles for the Prime Video series, which is currently filming in the UK.

It marks a leap from Westeros to Middle-earth for Hinds, who is perhaps best known to fantasy fans as Mance Rayder in Game of Thrones. The actor – who was nominated for an Oscar for his turn as Pop in Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast – has also appeared in franchises from Harry Potter to Zack Snyder’s Justice League.

Kinnear, meanwhile, is best known as MI5 agent Bill Tanner in many of Daniel Craig’s Bond movies. He also recently appeared in Alex Garland’s Men and HBO pirate comedy Our Flag Means Death.

Moodie appeared in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Empire of Light, and BBC’s Motherland.

It’s already been confirmed that one Rings of Power character has been recast for the upcoming season, which is currently undated. Sauron’s lieutenant Adar is set to be played by Sam Hazeldine in season 2 after originally being portrayed by Joseph Mawle.

Taking to Twitter last year, Mawle wrote, "I loved my time exploring Middle-earth and diving into Tolkien's mythology. I'm so honored that the character was liked. He cared deeply about telling you his story. Though as an actor it remains my wish, my job description, to explore new characters and worlds. Wishing all the best to cast and crew for S2, I'll be cheering you on from the sidelines."

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Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.