Season 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power experienced a close call during production in the U.K. this week. Deadline reports that an electrical fire broke out on the set of the Amazon series on Monday. But thankfully, the blaze seems to have caused no serious injuries.
A cause wasn’t given, but filming was underway at Bray Studios in Water Oakley on Monday when flames erupted in a warehouse on the backlot’s perimeter. The local fire department subsequently dispatched multiple engines to respond to the incident. Shooting was paused for about an hour while crews from various stations extinguished the fire. Per Entertainment Weekly, none of the show’s cast or crew members needed to evacuate the area. In fact, they resumed filming after the situation was taken care of.
Unfortunately, this isn’t season 2’s first production-related mishap. Just last month, one of the horses being used for the series died of sudden cardiac failure while being exercised before rehearsals for a battle scene. Although a a veterinarian and a representative of the American Humane Association were reportedly present, the horse’s death re-ignited the debate over the treatment of animals on film sets, with representatives for PETA accusing the show’s creators of “exploiting animals for their art.”
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Having The Rings of Power set up shop in the U.K. is a big departure not just for the series, but for the Lord of the Rings franchise in general. The show’s inaugural season was filmed in New Zealand, which has been the home of all Middle-earth stories since Peter Jackson’s original LOTR trilogy launched in the early 2000s. Regardless, this isn’t the only big change ahead. Season 2 will be introducing characters played by over a dozen new additions to the cast. Sam Hazeldine is also confirmed to be replacing Joseph Mawle as the Orc leader, Adar.
Amazon still hasn’t announced a premiere date for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2.
What do you think of this latest development regarding the new episodes’ production? Let us know in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: J.R.R. Tolkien 4-Book Boxed Set: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
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