The Harfoots will not have a main storyline in the third season of Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, with co-showrunner J.D. Payne saying they are taking a “backseat”. The change matters because the nomadic hobbit ancestors, particularly Nori Brandyfoot and Poppy Proudfellow, have been prominent since the series began, despite dividing viewers.

The Harfoots travelled with the Stranger, later revealed as Gandalf, in the first two seasons and ended Season 2 joining the Stoors on a new migration. Season 3 is set five years after Eregion’s fall and is expected to focus on Sauron’s attempt to forge the One Ring, alongside storylines involving Celeborn and Gandalf; the showrunners have not ruled out later returns for the Harfoots, Stoors or Sméagol.