‘The Rings of Power’ Actor Confirmed Not Returning for Season 2

A series regular from the first season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is not coming back for the second season.

Nazanin Boniadi, who played Bronwyn in the Prime Video show’s first season, won’t be in the upcoming episodes, a source close to the show exclusively confirmed.

Bronwyn is a human healer who was the mother of Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) and had a forbidden romance with the elf warrior Arondir (Ismael Cruz Cordova).

Fans noticed Boniadi’s absence from the show’s teaser trailer (below), which has racked up 13 million views in the last two weeks. She recently wrapped filming an indie film, A Mosquito in the Ear, the feature debut of Nicola Rinciari and an adaptation of the Italian graphic novel Una Zanzara nell’Orecchio.

Boniadi previously posted on Instagram that she took a step back from acting to focus on activism.

“I stepped away from acting in September 2022, to focus solely on the #WomanLifeFreedom uprising in Iran and to advocate for the people of my homeland who have been risking everything for freedom,” she wrote. “Despite my passion for acting, I knew it would take a very special project to convince me to once again split my time between my day job and my calling as an activist. A Mosquito in the Ear is that project … a beautiful adventure that we can’t wait to share with you.”

Bronwyn, Theo and Arondir were all absent from the show’s first season finale, leading to some early speculation about their future in the show. But Cordova and Muhafidin are confirmed back for the new episodes.

Earlier this week, the production also confirmed that previously announced actor Rory Kinnear will portray the fan-favorite J.R.R. Tolkien character Tom Bombadil in the new season.

The season will return fans to J.R.R. Tolkien’s Second Age and promises to show “the ascending evil presence of Sauron as he continues his vengeful quest for complete power.”

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The trailer featured Charlie Vickers reprising his role as Sauron, only with a dramatically different look, “one that will aid him in deceiving the denizens of Middle-earth.”

Here’s the official description: “In season two of The Rings of Power, Sauron has returned. Cast out by Galadriel, without army or ally, the rising Dark Lord must now rely on his own cunning to rebuild his strength and oversee the creation of the Rings of Power, which will allow him to bind all the peoples of Middle-earth to his sinister will. Building on season one’s epic scope and ambition, the new season plunges even its most beloved and vulnerable characters into a rising tide of darkness, challenging each to find their place in a world that is increasingly on the brink of calamity. Elves and dwarves, orcs and men, wizards and Harfoots… as friendships are strained and kingdoms begin to fracture, the forces of good will struggle ever more valiantly to hold on to what matters to them most of all… each other.”

The Rings of Power stands as Prime Video’s most-watched premiere day and cumulatively resulted in more than 32 billion minutes streamed.

The Rings of Power will return on Aug. 2.