Simon Pegg Joins THE RINGS OF POWER Season 3 as the Voice of the Balrog
Prime Video brought some awesome news for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power fans during its San Diego Comic-Con 2026 panel. Along with debuting a brand-new trailer for Season 3, the studio revealed several major casting additions, including one that nobody saw coming.
Simon Pegg has officially joined The Rings of Power as the voice of the Balrog, marking the first time the legendary Tolkien creature will actually speak on screen. That's a pretty cool role for Pegg to step into, especially considering the Balrog already made a huge impact after emerging in Season 2 and killing King Durin.
Now that the ancient monster has awakened beneath the Mines of Moria, it's pretty clear the Balrog is going to be a much bigger part of the story moving forward. Giving the creature a voice suggests there could be far more to this terrifying force than simply smashing everything in its path.
Pegg isn't the only fresh face heading to Middle-earth. Eddie Marsan has been cast as Thrain, the older brother of Durin IV, while Andrew Richardson will portray Anarion, the long-awaited brother of Isildur and son of Elendil.
Fans have been waiting for Anarion to finally enter the story, so it'll be interesting to see how he factors into the growing conflict across Númenor and Middle-earth.
Another intriguing addition is Adam Young, who will play an Orc named Marnûkh. The official description calls him "a mysterious Orc who may not be what he seems." That mysterious setup leaves plenty of room for speculation, especially since The Rings of Power has already shown there can be more complexity among Orcs than many expected.
These actors join the previously announced additions of Jamie Campbell Bower, who plays Celeborn, and Zubin Varla as Khamûl the Easterling of Rhûn.
Bower recently opened up about stepping into the role of Galadriel's long-lost husband, explaining the emotional journey that shaped his performance:
"This idea of longing and yearning is so pervasive in Tolkien's relationship with Edith [his wife] for the time that they were apart. I really feasted on that idea. Celeborn has had to find a way to survive whilst longing for something that he so dearly loved and so dearly missed as well."
With the Balrog returning in a much larger capacity, several major Tolkien characters finally entering the story, and more mysteries unfolding across Middle-earth, Season 3 is shaping up to be the series' biggest chapter yet.
The Rings of Power Season 3 premieres on Prime Video on November 11, with the first four episodes dropping together. Episodes 5 and 6 will follow on November 18, while the final two episodes arrive on November 25.