The Rings of Power Account on X has now revealed that Season 2 begins with another form of Sauron in a flashback from 1,000 years agoShowrunner Patrick McKay explained the creative decision to start the season this way, while Charlie Vickers, who played Sauron in Season 1 and will play him again as Annatar in Season 2, clarified that he will not be portraying Sauron in the flashback. Jack Lowden, who instead plays Sauron in this scene, addressed where this fits into the timeline of the series. Read their comments and watch the video below:

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 begins with a flashback in which Sauron is seen in a new form. Sauron spent the first season of The Lord of the Rings Prequel series disguised in the human form of Halbrand, which he used to deceive Galadriel, Celebrimbor and other characters. It is confirmed that he takes the elven form of Annatar in The Rings of Power The story of the second season is mainly used to manipulate Celebrimbor while new rings are forged.

Summary

• The Rings of Power
  Season 2 begins with a flashback in which Sauron takes on a new form.
• The flashback, which takes place 1,000 years earlier, is intended to provide insight into Sauron’s motives in the upcoming season.
• The tradition of starting with flashbacks is continued in the
  Lord of the rings
  franchise and adds important context to the character arcs.

McKay
:
What we’re actually trying to do in Season 2 is go deeper into his mind, and we wanted to start at a point where you understand what motivates Sauron.

Vickers
: And in the first scene of the series, a different actor plays Sauron.

Lowden
: This is a flashback about a thousand years ago, before the first season, after Morgoth was defeated.

A flashback opening continues a tradition of The Lord of the Rings

The Rings of Power Season 1 also continued

Back to The Companions, Almost every film and television series in the franchise began with a flashback. The Companions began with a flashback showing the Rings of Power, how an alliance of humans and elves joined together to oppose Sauron, and how the One Ring came into the possession of Bilbo Baggins. The two towers begins with a flashback in which Gandalf continues to fight the Balrog after his fall in the previous film, while The Return of the King began with flashbacks that revealed Gollum’s origins.

The Rings of Power

The season two flashback will feel like a natural extension of the franchise while adding important context to Sauron and Adar’s story arcs.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey continued the trend with an introductory flashback in which the dwarves lose the Lonely Mountain to Smaug, along with The Desolation of Smaug beginning with a flashback to the meeting between Gandalf and Thorin Oakenshield. The Battle of the Five Armies has decided to forego a flashback and instead continue with the cliffhanger of Smaug flying towards Lake-town. The Rings of Power Season 1 kept the tradition alive by beginning with flashbacks to Galadriel’s childhood in Valinor, a montage of the battle against Morgoth and the hunt for Sauron.

It is appropriate that The Rings of Power Season 2 will continue the tradition with a look back at Sauron a thousand years earlier and after the defeat of the mighty Morgoth. This will give more insight into Sauron’s motivations, what happened after Morgoth’s fallAdar turns against Sauron and Sauron’s eventual return. The Rings of Power The season two flashback will feel like a natural extension of the franchise while adding important context to Sauron and Adar’s story arcs.

Source: The Rings of Power/X