Showrunner talks about the dark wizard from season 2 of “Rings of Power” and his place in Tolkien lore

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Showrunner Patrick McKay discusses the implications of Season 2’s Dark Wizard and how he fits into JRR Tolkien’s original lore. The fantasy series on Prime Video explores the rise of Sauron, his quest to create a ring to rule them all, and the coming conflicts that will shape the Second Age in Middle-earth. Alongside the return of Galadriel as Morfydd Clark, Sauron as Charlie Vicker, Elrond as Robert Aramayo and Isildur as Maxim Baldry, Rings of Power The cast of the second season will debut popular characters from Middle Earth, including Tom Bombadil (Rory Kinnear).

Before The Rings of PowerAt the premiere of the second season with three episodes, McKay sat down with ComicBook.com to address the lore implications of a new threat that will terrorize Middle Earth. Speaking about the arrival of the dark wizard played by Ciaran Hinds and his debut in Middle Earth history, the showrunner explained that the new character is rooted in the temptations of Gandalf (Ian McKellan) and Saruman (Christopher Lee) in the face of great power. Watch McKay’s explanation below:

I don’t think it’s such a new concept. We’ve seen time and time again in Tolkien that powerful beings are seduced to evil. Gandalf doesn’t want to wear the Ring because he fears the evil he could do with it. Saruman turns to evil because he believes it’s the best way to save the world, no matter what twisted logic he’s come up with. So we know that good characters can turn to evil, and we know that even wizards can fall to the dark side, so to speak, and to see how that plays out with Ciarán Hinds will hopefully really excite people.

Is the Dark Wizard an existing Tolkien character?

There are two potential Istari that this new wizard can be

With the arrival of the Dark Wizard in Middle Earth, it is likely that a threat from Rings of Power Season 1 will be answered, with Daniel Weyman’s Istari Stranger and the three mysterious women who pursued him in Season 1 playing a role. The Dweller (Dweller), the Nomad (Edith Poor) and the Ascetic (Kali Kopae) wandered Middle Earth in search of a being they believed to be Sauron, suspecting that the stranger might be their object of worship. While Vickers’ Halbrand turned out to be Sauron in Rings of PowerAt the end of the first season, it may be that this sinister Istari has deceived these worshipers.

Three wizards are already clearly characterized by Tolkien: Gandalf, Saruman and Radaghast (Sylvester McCoy), and the remaining Istari Alatar and Pallando came to Middle-earth in the Second Age and became known as the Blue Wizards to prevent Sauron’s rise. Although little is known, apart from the cults they inspired and the role they played in ending Sauron’s rule, the Dark Wizard could take on any of these roles. Although his title sounds ominous, Rings of PowerThe dark wizard of may be pragmatically motivated, seeing his manipulations and ruthlessness as a necessary evil and the three women as his first cultists.

Since the first season kept the secret of who Sauron is top secret until the final episodes, it’s likely that the next season will leave viewers in the dark about the Dark Wizard for a similar length of time. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2. Despite having a dark title, McKay’s description suggests that the Dark Wizard is not motivated by evil and may have more cryptic motives that are harder to determine. However, since his story is intertwined with that of the Stranger, a battle of wizardry is sure to unfold in the Second Age.

Source: ComicBook.com