Entertainment

Frodo, Sam & Gollum's Rings Of Power Season 3 Replacements Officially Confirmed

Nairavoice · Oct 27, 2026 · 4 min read

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 will replace a trio of characters in a creative way.

Prime Video’s roster of TV shows continues to grow with high-profile releases of different genres. When it comes to Prime Video’s fantasy series, the streaming service has found success in animated form, with The Legend of Vox Machina and The Mighty Nein, and live-action, with shows like The Wheel of Time and the ambitious Rings of Power. The latter taps deep into Tolkien lore, using fan-favorite characters like Sauron, Galadriel, Elrond, Gandalf, and more to explore Middle-Earth’s Second Age. While the high fantasy series features characters fans have already seen before, it also replaces the roles of some of the franchise’s biggest players.

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Talking to IGN during a 2025 set visit for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3, co-showrunner Patrick McKay explained the similarities between the trio of Galadriel, Arondir and the new Orc Marnûkh in the Prime Video fantasy series’ upcoming season, to the traveling party formed by Elijah Wood’s Frodo, Sean Astin’s Samwise Gamgee, and Andy Serkis’ Gollum. According to McKay, their characters’ dynamic is indeed “a little bit like Frodo, Sam and Gollum.” The creator also talked about how Morfydd Clark’s Galadriel is more willing to give Marnûkh a chance than Ismael Cruz Córdova’s Arondir. Check out the full quote below:

“It’s a little bit like Frodo, Sam and Gollum. Galadriel had this very grudging respect that developed between her and Adar, so she’s maybe a little more willing to maybe believe there’s something to what Marnûkh is saying.
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Arondir’s interactions with Orcs have been terrible. They basically killed the woman he loved. So he’s like, ‘I don’t believe him. I think it’s a lie.’ And so you’ve got this dynamic from the three of them where the audience will constantly not be sure that they can trust this guy. Is he out for himself? Is he working on Sauron’s [behalf]? And that becomes a journey of a big part of the season, and there’s quite a few twists and turns along the way.”

“It’s a little bit like Frodo, Sam and Gollum. Galadriel had this very grudging respect that developed between her and Adar, so she’s maybe a little more willing to maybe believe there’s something to what Marnûkh is saying.

Arondir’s interactions with Orcs have been terrible. They basically killed the woman he loved. So he’s like, ‘I don’t believe him. I think it’s a lie.’ And so you’ve got this dynamic from the three of them where the audience will constantly not be sure that they can trust this guy. Is he out for himself? Is he working on Sauron’s [behalf]? And that becomes a journey of a big part of the season, and there’s quite a few twists and turns along the way.”

IGN detailed how The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 set visit included scenes of Marnûkh being escorted by Galadriel and Arondir as the Orc claimed to know where the final element Sauron is looking for to find the One Ring is. However, there is no way to be sure that he is telling the truth, and given how Arondir has only had negative interactions with Orcs up to this point, the Elf is not particularly fond of his new travel companion. Talking about his motives, McKay highlights how Sauron will be able to control the Orcs, just like everyone else, with the One Ring.

Adam Young is charged with bringing Marnûkh to life in The Rings of Power season 3. Talking to IGN, the actor commented on how it is not only crucial for the story that Galadriel and Arondir question Marnûkh’s motives, but also that Prime Video subscribers remain uncertain on whether the Orc is an ally or a foe playing the long game. According to Young, his character can be deemed a “wizard with words,” which is another way to say that Marnûkh is a talkative Orc, and the report states Arondir will not be fond of that.

It is easy to see how the characters’ dynamic in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 connects to Frodo, Sam, and Gollum’s journey in the original movies. Much like Frodo understood Gollum on a deeper level, Galadriel’s “grudging respect” for Adar, as described by McKay, leads to her being more open when it comes to Marnûkh. Additionally, just like Sam never trusted Gollum and kept being hostile to him, so will Arondir, who has no reason to like Orcs, with the new character in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3.