This will be our 24th edition of the Bagginses Birthday Bash in Griffith Park. Head to the link below to RSVP and list what you will bring to the party. You can also email me at Garfeimao(at)TheOneRing.net to RSVP if you are not on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/events/1369087481317252/
The party will start at 11:30am on Sunday, September 20, 2026 and will be a potluck sort of party, as usual, so please do mention what you plan to bring so we know what to expect and what holes need filling.
There will be fun and games, including a Dessert Contest for the best Fellowship of the Rings themed cake or cupcakes, or just theme it around 25 (for the 25th anniversary of FOTR). Costumes most welcome, there will be prizes.
Jamie Campbell Bower has been confirmed as the Elf Celeborn in Season 3 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
The announcement made in an exclusive by Empire Magazine validates much fan speculation. With Bower’s ethereal quality and his ability to portray both vulnerability and strength, his casting for this role seems perfect.
Empire Magazine’s Instagram post about Celeborn Casting (note TORN staffer Quickbeam’s comment)
Bower’s performance as Vecna in Stranger Things was nuanced and terrifying, yet he earlier portrayed a character that was both lover and fighter in the role of Jace Herondale in the film The Mortal Instrument: City of Bones. Hopefully, Bower will have the opportunity to explore all of his acting strengths in Season 3 of The Rings of Power, in his relationship with Galadriel and as a leader in the War of the Elves and Sauron.
Every great era of music has its power couple. And long before anyone in the Fourth Age (or the 1970s) picked up a Fender and sang about RUMOURS and heartbreaks, Middle-earth’s original singer-songwriters were already selling out the Old Forest: Tom Bombadil and Goldberry, the River-daughter.
He’s the eldest. She’s the daughter of the River. Together they’ve spent Ages singing about love, devotion, heartbreak, and taking care of the land — decades before it was cool, and they never once needed a record label, a tour bus, or a second take. When your relationship has outlasted the literal shape of the continents, you’ve earned a greatest-hits record. You could say they GO THEIR OWN WAY around Middle-earth.
This year at San Diego Comic-Con, TheOneRing.net is throwing the album release party the Withywindle valley never got.
Introducing: Merry Dol, River-daughter
Every year TORn brings a brand-new, fan-designed shirt exclusively to SDCC — and this year’s design pays loving parody tribute to one of the most iconic album covers in rock history. You know the one: the mystical duo, the dramatic pose, the dangling magic object, the interlocking destinies. If a certain 1977 masterpiece by a certain band famously full of romantic entanglements taught us anything, it’s that couples who make music together make legendary music together.
The Merry Dol, River-daughter shirt is artist-designed and hand silkscreened, and it looks like the album your coolest aunt kept in pristine condition and would not let you touch.
The details:
Price: $30
Where: TheOneRing.net Booth 1934 (near door C), all convention long
Cuts: Unisex premium cotton/poly blend (Bella Canvas 3001) and a women’s flowy dolman scoop neck (Next Level 1560)
🚨 Preview Night Exclusive: The Rare First Pressing 🚨
Real record collectors know the first pressing is everything. Attendees on Wednesday Preview Night only can grab a limited edition variant of the shirt featuring the classic tan album sleeve with artwork rendered in striking black & white — the “demo tape” edition, if you will. When Wednesday ends, it’s gone. The rumors are true, and they will not be repeated Thursday.
And Yes — Actual Vinyl available at Booth 1934
What’s a release party without records? Also at the booth: vinyl and CD copies of Tom Bombadil’s song, featuring the talents of Bear McCreary and Rufus Wainwright.
Even better: Bear McCreary himself will be at Booth 1934 on Friday at 12:30pm to sign recordings. The first 50 folks who purchase one of Bear’s recordings (we’ll have his album The Singularity, as well as Rings of Power Season 2 soundtrack recordings) at the booth before Friday 12:30 get a guaranteed spot in the signing line — so come early, buy your vinyl, and leave it safely in your hotel room until showtime (pro tip: just bring the cover).
Derry dol! Ring a dong dillo! Or in the language of the music press: this one’s going platinum in Bree.
Find Your Fit
The shirts are hand silkscreened, so know your size before you sprint to the booth Wednesday.
Unisex Tee — Bella Canvas 3001
A soft, retail-fit unisex tee in premium Airlume combed ring-spun cotton/poly. Heads up: this cut runs slimmer than an old-school boxy tee — if you like a relaxed fit, size up one.
Size
Chest Width (laid flat)
Body Length
XS
16.5″
27″
S
18″
28″
M
20″
29″
L
22″
30″
XL
24″
31″
2XL
26″
32″
3XL
28″
33″
Measured flat: width is armpit to armpit; length is from the highest point of the shoulder to the bottom hem.
Women’s Dolman Scoop Neck — Next Level 1560
Lightweight 60/40 cotton/poly jersey with a flowy, relaxed dolman cut, scoop neck, and curved hem. Goldberry-approved for twirling.
Size
Body Width (laid flat)
Body Length
XS
17.75″
25″
S
18.75″
25.5″
M
19.75″
26″
L
20.75″
26.5″
XL
22.25″
27″
2XL
23.75″
27.5″
3XL
25.25″
28″
The dolman is designed to drape loose through the body with wide, flowy sleeves — it’s meant to move like river-weed in a current, not fit like a rock tee from the merch tent.
The Setlist (Booth 1934 Edition)
Wednesday Preview Night: Limited edition B&W variant shirt — one night only
All weekend:Merry Dol, River-daughter shirts, $30, in unisex and dolman cuts
All weekend: Vinyl & CDs of The Singularity and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 soundtrack
Friday 12:30pm: Bear McCreary signing (buy a recording before Friday 12:30 for a guaranteed line ticket)
Loudest couple in the Old Forest, captured in silkscreen and on vinyl. ‘Now let the fun begin! Let us sing together!’ ‘We’ll be waiting for you’ – all you have to do is show up.
DONT STOP until you find Booth 1934. Hey dol! Merry dol!
San Diego Comic Con returns next week with tons of The Lord of the Rings related fun! TheOneRing.net will be holding court at Booth 1934 near door C.
All the Tolkien related Panels
Amazon Prime Studios is bringing Season 3 of Rings of Power to Hall H on Friday, with a few other fun LOTR related panels from the fan community. Add them to your favorites on the official SDCC app.
Bringing Licensing to Tabletop Games w/ Asmodee – Thursday 11:00am LINK
Bear McCreary, Musical Worldbuilding – Thursday 11:45am LINK
Building Worlds: Creatures & Ecosystems w/ Weta Workshop – Thursday 1:00pm LINK
Building Worlds like Tolkien w/ Don Marshall – Thursday 4:00pm LINK
The Rings of Power Season 3 in Hall H – Friday, 10:00am LINK
Women Powering Pop Culture w/ Helen Shang – Friday 3:00pm LINK
Psychological Journey of The Lord of the Rings w/ Todd Stashwick – Friday 8:30pm LINK
Designing Games in Middle-earth w/ Asmodee – Saturday, 2:45pm LINK
TORN presents LOTR: New Age of Adaptations – Sunday, 2:15pm LINK
We are excited to bring a “State of The Rings” panel on Sunday with fan reactions from the Rings of Power SDCC reveal, updates from The Hunt for Gollum currently filming in NZ, previews of The Hobbit MTG cards, and who know what special guests may join!
Getting into Hall H is always a fun romp, and many fans are already organizing line ups & camp outs Thursday afternoon to be first in line for The Rings of Power Season 3 Hall H preview. It’s all happening in the TORN Discord channel for conventions – check the pinned comments for links.
Signings
TheOneRing.net Booth 1934 is hosting a few signings! First up is a small detour to the Weta Workshop booth 3613 where author Kellie Rice (aka TORn staffer and Happy Hobbit Kili) will be joined by Sir Richard Taylor to sign copies of the hardcover Middle-earth Script to Screen book, Wednesday Preview Night at 8pm.
ALL WEEKEND – Artist & founder of Kings Wild cards, Jackson Robinson, will be at the TORN booth with an EXCLUSIVE Tom Bombadil art print he will sign upon request. Details to get free poster below.
We’re very excited that Bear McCrearywill be joining us on Friday, to sign some recordings! He won’t be at the booth for very long – so if you want to be SURE to have a chance to meet him, here’s what you need to do:
Come to our booth any time before Friday 12.30 and purchase one of Bear’s recordings (The Singularity and/or Rings of Power soundtrack). We’ll give the first 50 purchasers a special ticket; then on Friday those 50 folks – with their tickets in hand! – will make one line to meet Bear. Anyone who doesn’t have a ticket will get in another line, and will meet Bear (time permitting) after the first 50 have gone through. So to GUARANTEE you’ll get to meet Bear, come and purchase some vinyl (or a CD) from us! (Also pro-tip: once you’ve bought it, leave the contents safely in the cool of your hotel room, and just bring the cover to the signing!) Maximum three items per person to be signed.
Signings
Richard Taylor & K.M. Rice – Wednesday 8pm – Weta booth 3613 – Script to Screen books available (highly limited)
Bear McCreary – Friday, 12:30pm – TORN booth 1934 – Rings of Power S2 soundtrack vinyls + CDs and Singularity vinyls available for purchase
Richard Taylor & K.M. Rice – Sunday 9am – Weta booth 3613 – Script to Screen books (if not already sold out)
Tea with Tolkien – Sunday 11am – TORN booth 1934 – Into the Heart of Middle-earth book available + free goodies
Other LOTR related signings we aren’t affiliated with but sound fun:
Unlike recent years, Jed Brophy will not be attending SDCC this year (does this mean he’s busy being a working actor on a certain new movie…?)
Offsites & Parties
There are currently no Rings of Power or The Lord of the Rings events open to the public which have been announced – of course we’ll let you know if we hear of any! But Guillermo del Toro is celebrating the 20th anniversary of Pan’s Labyrinth with a Friday night party that requires completion of a scavenger hunt to get in.
Comic Con 2026 EXCLUSIVE Limited Edition Prancing Pony Mug
It comes in pints! TheOneRing.net is proud to offer the official Prancing Pony wooden tankard & shot glass bundle. Designed & manufactured by Burgschneider and Lumengrave with full licensed support from Middle-earth Enterprises, these were the most requested items from last year’s incredible Prancing Pony booth experience.
These food safe drinking cups are hobbit-scaled – large enought to make you feel like a halfling. Made from mango wood, natural food safe polish, genuine leather bands, with a pure jute bag for storage, the tankard measures 6″ tall, capable of holding 27 oz of libations. It pairs with an oversized 7oz shot glass, featuring laser etched dwarves runes encircling the Prancing Pony logo -which was designed by Daniel Falconer. Did we mention these are officially licensed?
SDCC 2026 Exclusive Mug & Glass Set
Due to the very limited run of only 500 units, and to give all attendees the opportunity to get it, the Tankard & Glass combo is up for pre-order online. FOR PICKUP ONLY AT SDCC. We are not shipping these. Select the day you’ll be at SDCC, and we will hold one set guaranteed for you at Booth 1934. AND if you pre-order, you get an exclusive pin, only available as part of the pre-order, at no extra cost! LINK
Exclusive LOTR Merch
We have some incredible new merch available at booth 1934 this year! Following up on the love & support fans gave our Prancing Pony Club shirt last year (nominated for best merch 2025!) we are happy to announce that shirt is coming back this year, complete with glitter ink, women’s cuts, and the same dance hall attitude.
SDCC Unofficial Blog got the scoop on our brand new shirt inspired by one of the greatest albums in rock history – introducing Merry Dol, River-daughter! These artist designed & hand silkscreened shirts will be available in both unisex Bella Canvas premium cotton/poly blend and in Women’s dolman scoop neck. The RUMORS are true: there will be an 🚨 EXCLUSIVE 🚨 Preview Night limited edition variant, only available Wednesday night, featuring the classic tan-colored album artwork in black & white.
Jackson Robinson and Kings Wild are joining us IN PERSON in the booth for the first time, bringing their successful $2 million kickstarter LOTR playing cards with lots of extra goodies. Available EXCLUSIVELY at TORn booth 1934 are these letterpress gold foil original art prints of the Tom Bombadil playing card artwork. Jackson is at the booth all weekend to sign these free prints – available by simply signing up to his anticipated Hobbit playing card deck preview list. Details on site at the booth.
… and more The Lord of the Rings stuff we love at SDCC
Middle-earth Enterprises is bringing the oversized hobbit-scaled Prancing Pony experience back to the convention floor at Dark Horse booth 2615 – don’t miss it!
Acclaimed artist SHAG is offering a LOTR inspired SDCC exclusive art print at his booth 3920
Weta Workshop return to the show floor, right in front of Hall E at booth 3613
There also seems to be a scavenger hunt involved with the cryptic LOTR.com... What could it be, precioussss…?
Can’t wait to see folks there! Now for a merry meeting!
THR confirms that the second age Lord of the Rings show will continue on.
Many fans already know that the Rings of Power has a full commitment through 5 seasons, but its still nice to see confirmation that work is commencing on the next season prior to the release of Season 3 this November 11.
The Hollywood Reporter shares that early development has already begun on the next season of The Rings of Power. Fans of Tolkien’s stories expect S4 to focus on the fall of Numenor, a catastrophic event so big it changes the make up of Middle-earth forever (and changes its maps). From THR:
“Preproduction on a fourth season this fall, with shooting to begin in early 2027. To be clear, season four is not officially greenlit, but Prime Video has continued to be very bullish about continuing its piece of The Lord of the Rings franchise… Amazon says the Amazon MGM Studios-produced series has attracted over 185 million viewers worldwide and “is one of the highest performing and most-viewed titles ever on Prime Video.” The first season marked the largest launch of any Prime Video series ever.
Amazon has also filed plans to upgrade its recently acquired Bray Studios near Windsor in U.K. They want to expand the film studio with a large car park and 6 more production facilities. Bray has been one of the main “homes” for Rings of Power when it left New Zealand for England, with both S2 and S3 filming there along the river that leads to Windsor Castle. If construction starts at Bray, it may mean S4 will be fully filmed at the newly built Amazon Studios at Shepperton.
After much fan conjecture, Amazon MGM Studios confirms the release date of Season 3.
In a press release from the Amazon Upfronts in NYC, Prime Video has announced the release date of season 3 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. While previous seasons launched around Labor Day September 1, the new third season will be debuting November 11, 2026 globally streaming on Prime Video.
Here’s the full press release
NEW YORK, New York – May 11, 2026 – Today during Amazon’s annual Upfront presentation, Prime Video confirmed that the eagerly awaited third season of epic fantasy series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, will premiere on November 11, 2026. The globally successful and award-winning series, which has attracted over 185 million viewers worldwide, continues to be one of Amazon’s strongest drivers for new Prime membership sign-ups.
“From the very beginning, this series has embodied the scale, ambition, and cinematic storytelling that define Prime Video’s biggest global series,” said Peter Friedlander, Head of Global Television, Amazon MGM Studios. “The extraordinary response from millions of fans around the world has made it clear that this journey through Middle-earth continues to resonate, and that momentum has only grown heading into Season Three.”
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is one of the highest performing and most-viewed titles ever on Prime Video, with a broad, highly engaged, global fan base. Critics have praised the series for its epic scope and production values, and Seasons One and Two are Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Through their respective 91 day post premiere launch windows and ranked by viewers, Season One remains the biggest TV series premiere in the history of Prime Video, and Season Two is among the Top 5 most-watched returning seasons ever. Season Two debuted as the #1 Original Series on Nielsen’s Streaming Top 10 Chart and remained in the top 4 throughout its entire run.
The Rings of Power brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth’s history. This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings books, and takes viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness. The series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth. From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains to the majestic forests of the elf capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the farthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone.
Jumping forward several years from the events of Season Two, Season Three takes place at the height of the War of the Elves and Sauron, as the Dark Lord seeks to craft the One Ring that will give him the edge he needs to win the war, bind all peoples to his will – and at last rule all Middle-earth.
Season Three of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is produced by showrunners and executive producers J.D. Payne & Patrick McKay. They are joined by executive producers Lindsey Weber, Justin Doble, Kate Hazell, and executive producer-director Charlotte Brandstrom. Matthew Penry-Davey is producer and Ally O’Leary, Tim Keene, and Andrew Lee are co-producers. The series is produced by Amazon MGM Studios.
All episodes of the first two seasons of the series are available to stream exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories in multiple languages.
About Prime Video Prime Video is a first-stop entertainment destination offering customers a vast collection of premium programming in one app available across thousands of devices. On Prime Video, customers can customize their viewing experience and find their favorite movies, series, and live events – including Amazon MGM Studios-produced series and movies Fallout, Heads of State, Reacher, Red One, Road House, The Accountant 2, Beast Games, The Boys, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, andThe Summer I Turned Pretty; licensed fan favorites; Prime member exclusive access to coverage of live sports including Thursday Night Football, NBA, WNBA, NASCAR, NWSL, and The Masters Tournament, and acclaimed sports documentaries including Bye Bye Barry, Kelce, and Earnhardt. Prime Video is one of many benefits of Prime, which bundles savings, convenience, and entertainment into a single membership. Prime members in the U.S. can share a broad range of benefits, including Prime Video, with Amazon Family. All customers, regardless of whether they have a Prime membership or not can access programming via Prime Video subscriptions such as MGM+, Apple TV, HBO Max, Peacock Premium Plus, FOX One, and Crunchyroll, as well as more than 900 free ad-supported (FAST) Channels, rent or buy titles, and enjoy even more content for free with ads. Customers can also go behind the scenes of their favorite movies and series with exclusive X-Ray access, and watch and shop their favorite titles with the fan-fueled shopping experience Shop the Show in the U.S. For more info visit www.amazon.com/primevideo.
