A “Rings of Power” regular won't be returning for season 2

Nazanin Boniadi, who played the human healer Bronwyn for Amazon's "Lord of the Rings" adaptation, stepped away from acting in 2022.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will still have a large ensemble cast of characters from across Middle-earth in season 2, but at least one familiar face will be absent when the series returns this August. Entertainment Weekly can confirm that Nazanin Boniadi's Bronwyn won't appear in the upcoming season.

Bronwyn, a single mother caring for her son with a knack for angering orcs, Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin), is a human healer from the region of Middle-earth known as the Southlands. Because the human inhabitants of that area had supported the dark lord Morgoth during his war against the elves and Valar, they were still living under elvish military occupation at the beginning of the show (which is set during the Second Age of Middle-earth).

Related: How The Rings of Power crafted that stunning battle sequence

But even in these tense conditions, Bronwyn developed a star-crossed romance with the elf warrior Arondir (Ismael Cruz Cordoba), a relationship that came in very handy when the Southlands were invaded by orcs during season 1's big battle episode and Arondir organized most of the town's defense.

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But in 2022, Boniadi decided to focus her attention on a real-world crisis: The protests that erupted in her home country of Iran in September of that year following the death in police custody of 22-year-old woman Mahsa Amini. Using the slogan "Women, Life, Freedom," the protesters opposed Iran's religious laws that were unfairly used against women like Amini.

Boniadi became involved in the protest movement, so much so that she took a break from acting.

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"I stepped away from acting in September 2022, to focus solely on the #WomanLifeFreedom uprising in Iran and to advocate for the people of my homeland who have been risking everything for freedom," Boniadi wrote on Instagram earlier this month. "Despite my passion for acting, I knew it would take a very special project to convince me to once again split my time between my day job and my calling as an activist."

That "very special project" is the upcoming film A Mosquito in the Ear, the directorial debut of Nicola Rinciari. But Boniadi will no longer be a part of The Rings of Power.

Cordoba and Muhafidin are set to return as Arondir and Theo, though, so rest assured the drama in their region of Middle-earth is far from over. There will also be new faces in season 2 of The Rings of Power, including Rory Kinnear's portrayal of fan-favorite Lord of the Rings character Tom Bombadil.

The new season premieres Aug. 29 on Amazon Prime Video.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.