Why The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power Fan Theories About Sauron Are Wrong

Amazon's "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" may be ramping up its marketing ahead of the show's impending debut, but there remains plenty of secrets and surprises to be discovered that have been intentionally held back thus far. That hasn't stopped fans from churning out their own theories and speculation about what may happen and how certain major characters will be depicted, of course. If anything, the slow trickle of information and reveals have only intensified such efforts.

Perhaps one of the most hotly debated points among fans looking forward to this new series, set thousands of years before the events of "The Lord of the Rings," has to do with the identity of the actor playing Sauron. The villainous Dark Lord was only briefly seen in corporeal form early in Peter Jackson's movies, but his actions as a younger being throughout "The Rings of Power" — at the time, still capable of appearing in the flesh and not just as a big, flaming eyeball which was mostly meant to be metaphorical, but I digress! — will set in motion many of the events that would affect every person in Middle-earth. As implied by the title of the series, the story will deal with the forging of the rings of power and the ensemble cast's slow realization that evil is, once again, on the rise.

Glimpsed in various footage, fans pointed to actor Anson Boon under the assumption that this was our first, Slim Shady-esque look at the young villain ... but new comments straight from the creative team of "The Rings of Power" are finally clearing up this glaring misconception. In short, all your fan theories about Sauron are probably wrong — here's why.

I always hate to be the bearer of bad news, but, sometimes, the internet is wrong. Despite heavy speculation that we've received a tantalizing look at Sauron's physical form in "The Rings of Power," one member of the creative team is dispelling the notion that the rather subtly villainous character pictured above is actor Anson Boon in costume as Sauron. For one thing, this isn't even Boon. According to executive producer Lindsey Weber in a report by TIME, this is actually a look at Bridie Sisson as a currently unknown character. According to Weber:

"We are enjoying all the speculation online and can tell you Bridie Sisson is an incredible actor. We also thought fans might like to know that her character is traveling from far to the east — from the lands of Rhûn..."

While that name won't ring any bells to casual viewers, those in the know should be aware that this easterly portion of Middle-earth has traditionally been the home of groups of men who came under Sauron's sway, both in the distant past and again during "The Lord of the Rings." Although nobody is confirming (or denying) whether Sisson is portraying the Dark Lord or not, it's much more likely that this is merely a servant or spy in his employ.

Author J.R.R. Tolkien described Sauron, known only as Annatar (which means "Lord of Gifts") at the time, as someone capable of tricking the wise Elves and other races into allowing him to teach them the arts of ring-forging — which he couldn't do if he looked like that.

Sauron will inevitably show up at some point ... but something tells me we haven't seen him just yet.

"The Rings of Power" debuts on Prime Video September 2, 2022.