Rings Of Power Star Reacts To Unexpected Recast
Amazon’s Rings of Power series will be recasting the orcish leader Adar for season 2, played by Joseph Mawle in Season 1. Mawle released a tweet in response to the news. He thanked his fans for their support, and although his tweet is a little bit difficult to parse, it appears that it was his decision to leave the series. He stated that he wants to explore new characters as an actor, and he will be cheering the series on in the meantime.
During his time on the Rings of Power cast, Joseph Mawle’s portrayal of the orcish Lord of the Southlands was praised for adding depth to a species that had previously been portrayed as one-note villains. The series paints the orcs in a sympathetic light by paying attention to their twisted origins, making it clear how they were elves that were kidnapped and tortured by the Dark Lord Morgoth. Adar’s goal of securing a homeland for his kind is noble on its own, though the actions he takes during the first season are outright villainous.
Before being cast in Rings of Power, Joseph Mawle was previously best known for playing First Ranger Benjen Stark in Game of Thrones. He has also played Thomas Lincoln in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Odysseus in the British-American TV series Troy: Fall of a City.
Rings of Power will replace Joseph Mawle with Sam Hazeldine, who is no stranger to playing antagonists in fantasy series. He appeared as King Eredin, the immortal commander of the Wild Hunt, in season 2 of The Witcher. He also played Barnaby Farrel, the abusive foster parent of Jed Walker in Sandman.
Rings of Power’s change from Joseph Mawle to Sam Hazeldine comes as Amazon’s much-anticipated series has proven to be largely successful, though it faces many challenges. While the first season ended on a high note by attracting 25 million viewers to its magnificent Season Finale, it only did so after a slow beginning that turned many fans off. During the course of season one, the series was often beaten in the ratings by its competitors, such as Netflix’s Cobra Kai and HBO’s House of the Dragon.
These woes that Rings of Power endured during Joseph Mawle’s tenure happen even though it’s the most expensive series ever made. Amazon paid $250 million to secure the rights from the Tolkien estate and reportedly paid almost $500 million to produce the first season, for grand total of $715 million.
Season 2 of Rings of Power will, in Joseph Mawle’s absence, will reportedly focus on developing Sauron as a character. The dark lord, who was the main antagonist of the Lord of the Rings series of books and films, revealed himself at the end of the first season.
Despite apparently leaving Rings of Power of his own volition, it’s unclear what Joseph Mawle plans to do next. His upcoming film, The Way of the Wind, is already in post-production. His name is not currently attached to any other projects.
