The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 trailer
Rings of Power fans are convinced a new character in Season 2 is a key figure in the Lord of the Rings. The Rings of Power returns to Prime Video on Thursday, August 29 with the first three episodes released on the streaming platform.
The new season picks up where the first season ended, with the reveal that Sauron, played by Charlie Vickers, was hiding in plain sight all along. Season two will also introduce a raft of new characters, including Ciarán Hinds playing a new character who has not been named yet.
The character is billed as “A dark and powerful wizard, whose origins and intentions are shrouded in secrecy, and who has a legion of magic-wielding acolytes who obey his every command — among them the three travellers who sought out the Stranger at the end of Season 1… on the Dark Wizard’s orders.”
A brief teaser released on social media showed an unnamed wizard character, complete with some familiar markings on his beard that has sparked an intriguing fan theory - the wizard is Saruman.
Famously played by Sir Christopher Lee, Saruman appeared in The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy and The Hobbit film series. He is the leader of the Istari who is later corrupted by his overuse of the Palantir.
In response to a trailer, a fan commented: "Ciarán Hinds as a younger version of Saruman. His facial look is very similar to Christopher Lee version of Saruman. Just different age and hair color."
One fan shared on Reddit: "Please tell me I am not the only one who sees the similarities in design and look of Ciarán Hind's character, who is also a wizard, to a certain character played by Sir Christopher Lee.
Referring to The Stranger as 'Meteor Man', another commented: "So sounds like Meteor Man is Gandalf then and Ciaran is Saruman? If he's wearing white he's not a blue wizard.
"Really thought it would be better if Meteor Man were Saruman. Oh well, it seems like we're getting young Saruman anyway. Saruman's not supposed to be evil yet at all so he and Gandalf really shouldn't be fighting in this show."
But others are not convinced. Many refer to Tolkien lore and note Saruman didn’t ‘turn’ evil until the Third Age. Another popular theory is that Hinds could actually be one of two Blue Wizards.
The Blue Wizards were the two wizards who were sent into the far East and South of Middle-earth to stop Sauron and prevent his rise to power. Meanwhile, Gandalf and Saruman remained in the west.
New episodes of season 2 will be released weekly, with the finale released on Thursday, October 3.
