What are the Nazgnagôl in The Rings of Power?
The Nazgnagôl are the show’s invented name for the nine corrupted human ring-bearers before they become the fully spectral Nazgûl. According to showrunner J.D. Payne’s interview with Empire, Season 3 catches the nine rulers partway through that transformation.
Payne explained that Nazgûl means Ringwraith in the Black Speech of Mordor. Because these characters were once men, the writers inferred that nagôl could mean servant and created Nazgnagôl, meaning Ring-servant.
The term does not appear in Tolkien’s texts; it is new lore devised for the adaptation. The linguistic reasoning is suitably Tolkien-minded, though. If you are going to invent vocabulary for Middle-earth, building it around language is considerably more convincing than throwing extra apostrophes at a keyboard and hoping for the best.
Season 3 will therefore show the nine after their rings have corrupted them but before they resemble the cloaked Ringwraiths familiar from the Third Age. That gives the series room to treat their fall as a character story rather than having nine anonymous wraiths glide into frame on a fog machine.
Who is Khamûl, and who plays him?
Khamûl is the second-in-command of the nine Ringwraiths and will be played in Season 3 by British stage actor Zubin Varla. Tolkien named only two members of the nine individually: Khamûl, the Black Easterling, and the Witch-king of Angmar.
Payne told Empire that Khamûl sees himself as a warlord who deserves to rule after his power was taken by a dark wizard. Sauron offers him a route back to power, giving the future Ringwraith a personal motive rather than treating corruption as an item to tick off the lore checklist.
Khamûl’s eastern origins could connect his story with the halfling and Gandalf plot in the East, although that link has not been confirmed. Empire’s report also notes that the returning halflings have yet to be announced, while the Dark Wizard’s identity remains unresolved.
What else is coming in Season 3?
Celeborn will also enter The Rings of Power in Season 3, with Jamie Campbell Bower playing Galadriel’s husband. Bower has described his version of the character as a lover-boy, which should bring a different energy to Galadriel’s increasingly crowded emotional and political life.
The Nazgnagôl remain the more revealing addition because they show exactly where Sauron’s manipulation of the human rulers is heading. Previous episodes established that the nine received rings; Season 3 advances that storyline into visible corruption and begins defining at least one future Ringwraith as an individual character.
When does The Rings of Power Season 3 premiere in the UAE?
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 3 premieres on Prime Video in the UAE on November 11, 2026, the same day as its global release. Our Season 3 release-date and first-look guide covers the previously announced UAE streaming details.
Seasons 1 and 2 are already available through Prime Video in the UAE, giving subscribers time for a rewatch before the Nazgnagôl arrive. The name may require a practice run, but the dramatic idea is refreshingly clear: the men have their rings, the corruption has started, and Sauron is ready to collect.
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