The Rings Of Power Season 3's Secret Weapon Is A Member Of J.R.R. Tolkien's Family [Exclusive]

Ben Rothstein/Prime Video

It takes a village to make a gargantuan, big-budget fantasy series on the level of "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power." No, scratch that. It takes a veritable army of hard-working artists and technical wizards and production heads, all pulling in the same direction to bring the vision of co-showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay to life. On top of that, add the unique pressures of crafting a new story set in the world of J.R.R. Tolkien's beloved Middle-earth and, needless to say, the creative team is all too happy to get as much help as humanly possible.

One name in particular, highlighted in the end credits throughout this season, will practically jump off the screen to diehard fans. Despite any online grumbling about changes made to the Prime Video series, there is a clear vetting process that Payne and McKay go through before bringing the written word of their scripts to the small screen. One small but crucial aspect of that includes Simon Tolkien, grandson of the famous author and the official "Creative Consultant" on "The Rings of Power" since the first season.

During a recent press junket prior to the release of the Season 3 premiere (you can check out the Season 3 trailer here), I asked McKay about Simon's role and what sort of input Tolkien's grandson may have had on the direction of these upcoming episodes. After cautioning that he has to remain "slightly cagey" and avoid going into specifics, McKay responded:

"I would say that we have the benefit of working with great people who know Tolkien and the lore and the literature, in addition to all these amazing craftspeople in the film world. And Simon's one of those people who, it's like phone a friend. We are in a constant dialogue with him. He'll push on things, we'll push back [...] we're very lucky to work with Simon. He's a real asset to the show."

Ben Rothstein/Prime Video

Patrick McKay's characterization of a give-and-take, back-and-forth dialogue with Simon Tolkien will almost certainly raise eyebrows among fans. It's worth noting that, for a series built entirely upon select passages from J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" books and a series of appendices that mostly amount to Cliff's Notes (summarizing eons of lore from the First and Second Ages of Middle-earth), "The Rings of Power" was always going to step outside the text in order to fill in storytelling gaps. This includes introducing wholly original characters like the Elf Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova), compressing the sprawling timeline to fit the needs of a television show, and plenty more.

But, while the response to adaptation choices in "The Rings of Power" has been immediate and vocal, it's fair to say it's been quite disproportionate, as well. After all, Peter Jackson's acclaimed "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy (along with his much more divisive "The Hobbit" movies) did the exact same thing. The prologue of "The Fellowship of the Ring," depicting events that "The Rings of Power" will eventually catch up to, took almost a decade of in-world history and smashed it into a single epic battle. Elsewhere, entire characters were made up, other established fan-favorites were rendered almost unrecognizable compared to their book counterparts, and each subsequent movie strayed further and further from the source material.

Naturally, Season 3 will introduce yet more changes (including an explanation behind everyone's favorite MIA hero, Jamie Campbell Bower's Celeborn). But, remember, the ever-protective Tolkien Estate signed off on this series and, well, Tolkien's books are right there. "The Rings of Power" Season 3 debuts November 11, 2026 on Prime Video, and so far, critics are united in their reactions.