The series «The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power» takes place in the Second Age of Middle-earth, so there are few characters familiar from Jackson’s films. But attentive viewers have found one more.
Such characters as Galadriel and Sauron are present because of their long life expectancy. Fans found another long-liver in a recent Amazon Prime Video teaser.
A 20-second teaser for the second season of «The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power» posted on social media shows an unnamed wizard with a distinctive beard played by Ciaran Hinds. Fans immediately assumed an old acquaintance — Saruman (or at least one of the Istari).
The Wizard, played by Sir Christopher Lee in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, was an elder of the Istari and was not corrupted by evil until the Third Age. This happened later, through the use of Palantir and communication with Sauron.
Some point to the latter fact as a hint that the audience is not seeing Saruman, but one of the other wizards. Tolkien did not reveal the fate of two of them in detail, but it is known that they tried to destroy Sauron’s power in the east of Middle-earth, while Gandalf and Saruman acted in the west.
Recently, actor Daniel Wayman said that does not know who his character Stranger is but he is also one of the Istari. Weiman says that at this stage of the series it’s not that interesting. But the audience is interested, and they suspect him of being Gandalf.
Source: GamesRadar