‘100% He Is Not’: Rings of Power Showrunners Definitively Shut Down Major Dark Wizard Theory
While the identity of the Dark Wizard in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power was in question during Season 2 of the Prime Video fantasy series, the showrunners are now confirming that the character is not who many may think he is. Per GamesRadar+, J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, co-showrunners on The Rings of Power said the Dark Wizard is “definitively” not Saruman, or Saruman the White as he is referred to in the J.R.R. Tolkien books.
“Well, I wonder if we can make news on this one,” McKay said. “We can definitively say he is not Saruman. Definitively, 100% he is not,” he added, referring to the Dark Wizard character portrayed by actor Ciarán Hinds. Payne also offered up this tidbit: “I think we can say we do know who he is.” McKay added, “But that’s all we can say.”
The Dark Wizard Could be One of Three Other Istari
If the Dark Wizard is not Saruman, he is one of three remaining possibilities, as in the finale of Season 2, the Dark Wizard tells The Stranger (Daniel Weyman) that there are five of them. With The Stranger’s identity revealed to be Gandalf at the end of the season finale, and Saruman debunked by the showrunners, that leaves just three possibilities. Now, fans can ponder whether the Dark Wizard is Radagast or one of the two Blue Wizards, Alatar and Pallando, sometimes referred to as Morinethar and Rómestámo.
Showrunners Previously Said it was Unlikely the Dark Wizard was Saruman
The news that the Dark Wizard is not Saruman, should not come as a surprise, as in October, the showrunners told Vanity Fair that the assumption he is Saruman was unlikely. Sarurman, in The Lord of the Rings legendarium, was the first of the Istari, or emissaries of the Valar, sent to Middle-earth in the Third Age to defeat Sauron. But, Saruman was corrupted with a great desire for power and became one of Sauron’s greatest allies and servants. If the Dark Wizard is one of the Blue Wizards, it would mean that he was sent to Middle-earth to offset Sauron – never to return.
“Given the history of Middle-earth, it would be highly, highly improbable that this could be Saruman,” McKay said in October. “If not impossible,” added Payne. In another interview, McKay said they know some wizards become corrupted. “So, there is precedent for this, but that doesn’t mean it’s the same guy. As you say, it wouldn’t actually make sense for it to be Saruman,” McKay said.
We Know It Can’t be Gandalf
The showrunners took their time revealing that The Stranger is, in fact, Gandalf, or “Grand Elf”, as the Stoors named him. “Yeah, so we wanted it to be a journey of discovery for the audience, the character, and for ourselves, and we truly left ourselves open,” Payne said.
“We had some suspicions from the beginning who it might be, but I think, especially as the friendship between he and Nori (Markella Kavenagh) and Poppy (Megan Richards) grew to be so rich, we said, ‘Gandalf loves halflings. Saruman doesn’t really love halfings, and he speaks about them really dismissively. And Radagast doesn’t seem to feel much, one way or another about them.’ We felt like it really sort of made sense if you were looking at canon, you know where this character would ultimately go,” Payne said.
Payne and McKay recently confirmed that there will be a third season of The Rings of Power, so fans will have to tune in to see the if identity of the Dark Wizard is revealed. The first two seasons are streaming on Prime Video.
