Who Is The Dark Wizard In The Rings Of Power Season 2? Everything We Know So Far

"The Rings of Power" is operating with an ensemble cast to rule them all. Sure, a few characters, like Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), Sauron (Charlie Vickers), and Elrond (Robert Aramayo) get extra attention. In reality, though, there are a lot of faces vying for some screen time — and the list of characters keeps expanding with each season.

One of my favorite new additions to season 2 is the moody Irish actor Ciarán Hinds. Hinds is already known for his role in another fantasy franchise, "Game of Thrones," where he played Mance Rayder. One area of the fantasy landscape that he hadn't entered yet, though, was Middle-earth — that is, until he joined Prime Video's show, donned some elaborate robes, grabbed a fancy staff, and set up shop as a "Dark Wizard" in the series' storyline in the easter region of Rhûn.

Hinds' new character doesn't show up until early in season 2, where he brings a sinister and threatening tone and gives off a feeling of awe and dread. His mystic followers strike terror into others, and he shows a clear desire to stomp out the threat of the mysterious Istari Stranger. While Daniel Weyman's character identity is (finally) revealed as Gandalf by the end of the season, by the time the credits rolled, Hinds' Wizard remained shrouded in dark mystery. So, who is he, then? Who is this evil entity living on the edges of this adaptation of Tolkien's world? There are a few clues to work from, and we can use them to narrow our options as we wait for season 3 to shed more light on this obscure magic-wielder in the East.

Let's start with the most obvious question of all: Is the Dark Wizard Saruman? Fortunately, this is an area where we actually have the greatest clarity. In a Vanity Fair interview with showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay, which aired the day season 2 ended, the interviewer pointed out that he seems to be Saruman, to which McKay said, "No, no, I'll say something on the record. Given the history of Middle-earth, it would be highly, highly, highly improbable that this could be Saruman." Payne went so far as to immediately chime in with the phrase, "If not impossible," after which McKay elaborated:

"The Dark Wizard has an important role to play in the doings of Middle-earth [...] the Dark Wizard's fate is not decided and his name is not out there yet, but it would almost defy the laws of gravity and physics for it to be Saruman."

There you have it, folks. The showrunners themselves have poured water on the theory that the Dark Wizard is Saruman — and the reasoning makes sense. Sure, the Wizard has a similar feel to Saruman's haughty bearing. He even has similar (though different) flecks of black in his white beard.

But let's look at the counterpoints. First, this Wizard is already old, even when Gandalf is young. (Yes, most of Tolkien's versions of the story don't have any Wizards in the narrative at this point, but for argument's sake, let's roll with it for now.) Saruman does go into the East, but he is still a good guy at that point. In contrast, the Wizard in the show attacks a group of Halflings right in front of Gandalf. It would stretch belief to think this is Saruman and that he can act like that and then somehow regain Gandalf's trust before his betrayal during "The Lord of the Rings" later in Middle-earth history. I, for one, am glad we don't have to wait until season 3 to all but definitely rule out Saruman. Moving on...

Once you've ruled out Saruman as an option, there is one choice for the Dark Wizard's identity that stands out above all the rest: A Blue Wizard. In the Vanity Fair interview, showrunner JD Payne followed up the debunking of Saruman as an option with the line:

"There's Radagast the Brown and then there's two blue wizards—and that's all we'll say."

We'll circle back to the beloved Radagast the Brown in a minute, but who are the Blue Wizards? If they sound unfamiliar, that's because they don't show up in "The Hobbit" or "The Lord of the Rings" franchises (books or movies) except for one brief hint in "The Two Towers" book where Saruman references the "rods of the Five Wizards," indicating that there are five uppercase "W" Wizards in Tolkien's world. Of these, three are in the main stories: Gandalf, Saruman, and Radagast. The Blue Wizards are the other two, and they remain out of sight and underdeveloped by Tolkien to his dying day.

While there is very little known about the Blue Wizards, Tolkien does give us a couple of off-beat passages about them that help a little bit. For instance, in a letter in 1958, he said:

"I really do not know anything clearly about the other two [wizards] [...] I think they went as emissaries to distant regions, East and South [...] 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."

That jives with what we're seeing in the show. In books like "Unfinished Tales" and "The Peoples of Middle-earth," the author adds that the Blue Wizards were likely snared by Sauron and became his servants. He also offers an alternative version where they come in the Second Age when the show is set. This is the only time Tolkien actually had Wizards coming that early in the story. In this version, they are actually really important heroes who fought against Sauron, although that seems unlikely based on the "Dark" part of this Wizard's title.

All things considered, the East-facing storyline, Second Age arrival, and potential corruption of the Blue Wizards make them highly likely candidates for the Dark Wizard's identity. Really, the only thing that doesn't clearly make this guy a Blue Wizard already is the fact that there is only one of him (the Blues are always mentioned together) and that he isn't decked out in azure robes.

Another option for the Dark Wizard is the lovable Brown Wizard Radagast. Yes, I see the oxymoronic elements of that sentence, too, but we technically need to consider this one because showrunner JD Payne mentioned him along with the Blue Wizards. While the possibility of the Blue Wizards makes a lot of sense, though, it's harder to lend credence to the concept that this nasty power-wielding figure in Second Age Rhûn could be the same as the animal-loving softy we meet in "The Lord of the Rings" books and the "Hobbit" movies (where he's played by Sylvester McCoy).

We know very little about the backstory of Radagast the Brown. What we do know is that Tolkien toyed with the idea of having him serve as one of the "Five Guardians" earlier in Middle-earth history. That would make him an important figure early on. The rest of what we know of Radagast comes from "The Lord of the Rings," where Gandalf describes him by saying:

"Radagast is, of course, a worthy wizard, a master of shapes and changes of hue; and he has much lore of herbs and beasts, and birds are especially his friends."

This comes in the context of a larger discussion where Radagast is seen as a simple, trusting individual duped by the treacherous Saruman. In contrast, Payne said in the interview that "for now [the Dark Wizard is] defined not by his title or name, but by his deeds — which are dark." It's possible the show could have Radagast start out evil in the East and then repent and come West, but it seems like a hard pitch to sell to an audience that last saw the character in "The Hobbit" franchise wearing birds' nests for hats and driving sleighs pulled by Rhosgobel Rabbits.

So far, we've discussed Wizards. And to be fair, this seems most likely. In the season 2 finale, Ciarán Hinds' character even brings up the fact that there were five Wizards in the group that he and Gandalf used to belong to. However, if he's lying about his origin in an attempt to buddy up with an Istari, there's a chance that he, himself, actually isn't one of the Istari at all. He might just be a magic-wielding human.

You can find evidence for this throughout Tolkien's writings. He regularly differentiates between the unique spiritual beings called "Wizards" and other earth-bound magicians and sorcerers. In "Unfinished Tales," he even says of the name Wizard:

"The translation [...] is not perhaps happy, since the Heren Istarion or 'Order of the Wizards' was quite distinct from the 'wizards' and 'magicians' of later legend."

In other words, there are magic-wielding individuals in Middle-earth who are not one of the Five Wizards. Presumably, if one of these was powerful enough, they could end up leading cults and having mystic acolytes who could reincarnate on command. Tolkien doesn't identify many magical individuals by name, either, which could open the door for JD Payne and Patrick McKay to invent some of their own. They have already come up with many new characters for the story — a necessity when working with the sparse source material. Could this be another of those newly minted individuals?

If the Dark Wizard is a human rather than one of the Istari, it also opens up the doors for a further twist in his storyline: He could be a future member of the Nazgûl. As popular as the Dark Riders are from "The Lord of the Rings," like Radagast, we actually know very little about them.

For instance, while we know their leader is called the Witch-king, we don't know his original name. "The Silmarillion" briefly describes the group's origin by saying that three of them were lords from Númenor. Interestingly, the only named Nazgûl is a nasty fellow named Khamûl from the eastern regions of Rhûn, the same area where the Dark Wizard currently dwells in the show.

The book adds that they "became mighty in their day, kings, sorcerers, and warriors of old." So, while some of them are rulers and warriors, there are magic-wielding members of the Nine, as well. If the Dark Wizard isn't one of the Five Wizards, the show could be setting him up to be a recipient of one of the Nine Rings that Sauron just obtained at the end of season 2.

So, who is the Dark Wizard? At this point, we just don't know. Maybe he's nothing more than a red herring intended to mislead audiences and distract from the Stranger's larger anti-Sauron mission. It's possible, but as far as this Tolkien-obsessed fan is concerned, my money is on Hinds' curious villain turning out to be a wayward Blue Wizard. Fortunately, we shouldn't have to wait too long for more info. The show will begin filming in the UK in early 2025, which means season 3 can't be too far off.