Rings of Power S3: First Age Galadriel flashback to explain Celeborn's absence

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Stranger Things star Jamie Campbell Bower is playing a notorious Lord of the Rings character in The Rings of Power season 3 as he steps into Celeborn's shoes. The Elven warrior is Galadriel's husband, but he has been absent from the story so far.

It's now been confirmed that this will be addressed in the new season through an "epic" flashback. Speaking at San Diego Comic-Con, co-showrunner Patrick McKay shared the insight, explaining how we'll see a new side to Galadriel in the upcoming third season.

"You've gotten to know Galadriel as one character over multiple seasons, but whenever there's anyone who's really important in your life, that person brings out other qualities in you, and you see different things when someone is with someone that they really love," he tells GamesRadar+ and other press at a roundtable. "So bringing in Celeborn, you start to see this whole other part of Galadriel."

McKay added: "We're going to go back to the First Age when they first met in this really romantic, beautiful, epic scene. And then we're going to understand what has happened to her and why she has had this descent that she has had in the time since he's been gone. And then getting to see him come back again, you'll see again a totally different part of her begin to come out and flourish."

We do see a glimpse of this scene in The Rings of Power season 3 trailer , as Galadriel and Celeborn dance in a forest, surrounded by golden lights. The pair have been separated for hundreds of years when he returns in season 3 and he must join the fight quickly against the rising darkness.

For more on what's been revealed at SDCC, check out our San Diego Comic-Con 2026 live coverage and our SDCC 2026 schedule .