We finally got our first look at 'The Dark Wizard' when The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 debuted on Prime Video this week, but it raises more questions than answers.
The character played by Ciaran Hinds has caused much debate since we first got a glimpse of him in a The Rings of Power season 2 trailer and we were offered a few more clues to his real identity in the opening triple-bill of episodes.
We first see him in Rhûn with one of his mysterious 'acolytes' reporting back on The Stranger's progress through the land that lies in the far East of Middle-Earth. These three beings - known as The Dweller, The Ascetic and The Nomad - were last seen tracking The Stranger (Daniel Weyman) in the opening series.
The trio of sinister beings first believed him to be Sauron, but now understand he is an Istar (a wizard sent by the Valar to assist the peoples of Middle-earth against Sauron).
Prime Video's saga is set during The Second Age, yet according to Tolkien-lore there were five known Istari in Middle-Earth by the time The Third Age rolls around - Gandalf, Radagast, Saruman and the two Blue Wizards. Some fans have wondered if 'The Dark Wizard' could be one of them, while others believe he could be someone else entirely.
Let's take a look at the possibilities...
Who is The Dark Wizard? Is he Saruman?
In Tolkien's original works, Saruman didn't come to Middle-Earth until The Third Age - but then neither did Gandalf.
If The Stranger is revealed to be Gandalf, as is widely expected, then it's safe to say the show's writers Patrick McKay and John D. Payne have brought his arrival forward, so it stands to reason they could have done the same with Saruman.
We know Saruman headed east soon after he arrived in Middle-Earth, which means he could well be masquerading as The Dark Wizard in the land of Rhûn. The character played by Ciaran Hinds also appears to be wearing white robes, which would fit with him being Saruman (later known as Saruman the White).
Yet while Saruman ultimately turned to evil in the latter stages of The Lord of the Rings, he was a trusted member of the White Council for many centuries before that and a confidante of Gandalf at the start of the Third Age.
As such he would probably be a friend to Gandalf during this time, which doesn't correlate with the show runners naming him 'The Dark Wizard' - although of course this could be a massive misdirection!
Is The Dark Wizard Khamûl?
Only two of Sauron's nine Ringwraiths - or Nazgul - were explicitly named in Tolkien's writings, although it seems certain that McKay and Payne will be filling in the blanks with enthusiasm over the coming seasons of The Rings of Power.
One was their leader, The Witch-King of Angmar, while the other was Khamûl - nicknamed "Shadow of the East" - who was thought to be an Easterling who ruled Rhûn.
Little is known about Khamûl before he accepted one of the nine rings from Sauron, but from what we've seen so far The Dark Wizard would almost certainly accept one if The Dark Lord came calling. Could he one day become a member of the Nazgul?
Is The Dark Wizard one of the Blue Wizards?
In Tolkien's early writings, the Blue Wizards arrived in Middle-Earth at the same time as the other three members of the Istari, yet in later writings he hinted the two Blue Wizards - named Morinehtar and Romestamo - arrived in The Second Age.
In his earlier works the author also explained how they travelled East with Sauraman, yet unlike him, they didn't return, with some theorising they fell into darkness. In a 1958 letter, Tolkien expanded upon their fate...
"I really do not know anything clearly about the other two wizards – since they do not concern the history of the North West. I think they went as emissaries to distant regions, East and South, far out of Númenórean range: missionaries to 'enemy-occupied' lands, as it were. What success they had I do not know; but I fear that they failed, as Saruman did, though doubtless in different ways; and I suspect they were founders or beginners of secret cults and 'magic' traditions that outlasted the fall of Sauron."
Tolkien's later works hinted at a slightly different fate, suggesting they had more luck holding back Sauron's forces than he previously mentioned.
Yet with the Blue Wizards' official biography vague at best, there's definitely room for The Rings of Power's writers to introduce one of them as The Dark Wizard in season 2.
Is The Dark Wizard a Balrog?
The Istari are simply a branch of the Maiar in Tolkien's writings so some have suggested The Dark Wizard could be a different type of Maiar, such as a Balrog.
A few fans have theorised that Balrogs could actually take a different form before they became the horned smoke monsters, so maybe Hinds could be a one pre-transformation?
It seems unlikely, apart from one comment made by the show's Production Designer Kristian Milsted, who may have hinted at The Dark Wizard's future home while discussing his current lair.
“It’s more a kind of teasing of what might happen here,” says Milsted. “It’s all carved out of a massive mountain.”
Tolkien's writings explain that Balrogs were Maiar that had been seduced by Morgoth into his service, turning into dreadful Ûmaiar, who wielded the flame of Udûn - as apposed to the flame of Anor used by the Istari. His works also describe them spending centuries hiding beneath mountains.
Now Morgoth might already be long gone by the time The Rings of Power starts, with Sauron stepping into his shoes as Middle-Earth's main villain, but could the writers have altered the Balrog's timeline so that Sauron corrupts them?
We've already seen one fiery demon of the ancient world stir beneath the dwarf-realm of Khazad-dûm, yet with "between three and seven" of these creatures existing in Middle-Earth, is it possible The Dark Wizard could be another one in the making?
