BREAKING: Elves and Númenóreans Spotted Together in Rings of Power Season 3 Set Photos

Disclaimer: The following article is based on set photos taken during filming at Portland Bill, Dorset. None of this has been confirmed by Amazon, and all interpretations should be considered speculative.

New set photos from The Rings of Power Season 3 (shared on Facebook by Aham Photos, who also posted a TikTok where it was stated they were taking aerial shots of everyone standing and looking over the sea. —Ed) appear to show a dramatic confrontation or negotiation between the Elves and Númenóreans. Filming took place at Portland Bill, on the southern coast of England. The images show richly costumed characters who appear to be Elrond, the Elven High King Gil-galad, and Ar-Pharazôn, the king of Númenor.

The staging, complete with banners, armor, and coordinated colors, suggests a formal gathering or display of authority rather than a battlefield clash.

Elves and Númenóreans on Set

• Elrond – An Elven figure dressed in teal-blue and brown closely resembles Robert Aramayo, who plays Elrond. His presence is symbolically powerful. His twin brother, Elros, was the first King of Númenor and Ar-Pharazôn’s ancestor, so any meeting between Elrond and the Númenóreans carries a strong sense of history.

• Gil-galad – Another tall Elven figure, clad in gold with dark hair, strongly matches Benjamin Walker’s Gil-galad. His inclusion here could mark this as a significant diplomatic moment between Lindon and Númenor.

• Pharazôn – Trystan Gravelle seems to be in full costume as Ar-Pharazôn, wearing ornate black and gold armor with a heavy cloak. As the new ruler of Númenor following the events of Season 2, his central role in this gathering feels consistent with his rise in power after imprisoning the rightful Queen, Míriel [Ed: technically Tar-Míriel, but I think she would be denied this formal honorific].

• Ar-Pharazôn’s Army – Soldiers appear in crimson cloaks and ornate helms, carrying banners marked with the Númenórean sun motif. While the emblem itself is tied to Númenor as a whole, the red and gold color scheme has been linked to Ar-Pharazôn’s faction specifically. By contrast, Queen Míriel’s supporters were associated with lighter blues. With Míriel last seen imprisoned, this sharp color distinction emphasizes Ar-Pharazôn’s dominance.

• Elven guards – In addition to the guards in golden robes with the water/river motif, which previously appeared on Adar’s breastplate in seasons 1 and 2, there is another Elven character with a costume very similar to Elrond’s, with the same water pattern on his long tunic. Could this be a stunt double for Elrond, or another character altogether?

• Stunt doubles? – We see Gil-galad, Ar-Pharazôn and Elrond walking along a path with ponchos over their clothes, but these seem to be not the actors Ben Walker, Trystan Gravelle and Rob Aramayo.

What Could It Mean?

If this interpretation is correct, these set photos may depict a high-level diplomatic encounter between Númenor and the Elves of Lindon.

Season 2 highlighted Númenor’s growing internal divisions. The conflict was not a direct war with the Elves, but a political struggle between Queen Míriel’s pro-Elven allies and Ar-Pharazôn’s increasingly isolationist faction. Now that Míriel has been removed from power, any meeting Ar-Pharazôn holds with Elven leaders carries greater weight.

In Tolkien’s lore, Númenor’s hostility toward the Elves is one of the key steps in its eventual downfall. Gil-galad later allies with Elendil rather than Ar-Pharazôn, which makes this apparent gathering particularly intriguing. That alliance comes only after Númenor’s fall, not during Ar-Pharazôn’s reign. If the show is depicting a meeting between Gil-galad and Ar-Pharazôn, it could either be a creative departure or a foreshadowing of the political fractures that lead to Númenor’s doom.

Another possibility is that the scene could connect to Sauron’s eventual capture. In Tolkien’s writings, Ar-Pharazôn asserts his dominance by bringing Sauron back to Númenor, an act that seals the island’s fate. If Gil-galad is present here, the show could be setting up a negotiation or confrontation that foreshadows those events.

Final Thoughts

Although nothing is confirmed, these images suggest that Season 3 may continue to explore Númenor’s unstable politics and its uneasy relationship with the Elves. The apparent meeting of Elrond, Gil-galad, and Ar-Pharazôn would be a moment of enormous significance, whether it turns into alliance, confrontation, or careful maneuvering.

Until Amazon releases official material, all of this remains speculative. Even so, the images have already sparked discussion about the direction of Season 3, as well as what it may mean for both Númenor and the Elves of Middle-earth.

This article has been updated with additional photos