{"id":4209,"date":"2024-12-05T01:38:48","date_gmt":"2024-12-05T01:38:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssoccer.uk\/?p=4209"},"modified":"2024-12-05T01:38:48","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T01:38:48","slug":"dark-wizards-appearance-rings-power-doesnt-preclude-future-lord-rings-cameos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssoccer.uk\/?p=4209","title":{"rendered":"The Dark Wizard’s appearance in The Rings of Power doesn’t preclude future Lord of the Rings cameos."},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0has nearly the identity of its Dark Wizard, creating the question of whether one key\u00a0Lord of the Rings<\/em>\u00a0cameo will occur. While viewers asked who Sauron was throughout\u00a0The Rings of Power<\/em>\u00a0season 1\u00a0and who the Stranger was in season 2, season 3 will be all about the Dark Wizard’s identity. Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) was Sauron and the Stranger (Daniel Weyman) was Gandalf, setting up a key duality and opposition in the show. The Dark Wizard is fascinating as he could upset this balance, allying with one or the other.<\/p>\n

The Dark Wizard (Ciar\u00e1n Hinds) claims to be an Istar in\u00a0Rings of Power<\/em>\u00a0season 2. The Istari were originally good Wizards sent to Middle-earth by the Valar to oppose Sauron. However, the Dark Wizard seems to have tactics more aligned with the brutal and tyrannous regime of Sauron than the Valar, having no qualms about killing his own followers. In a\u00a0Reddit<\/em>\u00a0Q&A,\u00a0showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne all but confirmed that the Dark Wizard is a Blue Wizard,<\/strong>\u00a0an Istar with an unconfirmed fate in lore. Although cruel, he is not Saruman \u2014 but Saruman himself could still appear.<\/p>\n

The Dark Wizard isn’t Saruman, but that doesn’t rule out a Saruman appearance in\u00a0Rings of Power<\/em>\u00a0season 3\u00a0or future seasons. The Lord of the Rings movies’ fiendish Saruman (Christopher Lee) betrays the White Council and turns to Sauron before betraying him too, representing greed and a purely selfish drive for power. He clearly will not occupy the villainous role of the Dark Wizard in\u00a0Rings of Power<\/em>, which makes sense \u2014 if Gandalf had to deal with a morally dubious Saruman in the Second Age, he would be less trusting of him in the Third Age.<\/p>\n

Saruman pulls the wool over Gandalf’s (then played by Ian McKellen) unsuspicious eyes in the future, so\u00a0Saruman would more likely be Gandalf’s ally\u00a0<\/strong>in the show\u00a0<\/strong>to ensure this logic is maintained. However,\u00a0Rings of Power<\/em>‘s Istari\u00a0have been a fascinating storyline, and adding to it would be beneficial. There are lots of advantages to exploring all the Istari, and now that one Blue Wizard has been introduced, it stands to reason that the others will be too. Only Saruman and Radagast are left for the show to investigate, and the former’s storyline would complement Gandalf’s nicely.<\/p>\n

Rings of Power<\/em>\u00a0could show Saruman before his turn to evil in\u00a0Lord of the Rings<\/em>.\u00a0The faithfulness of Amazon Prime Video’s\u00a0Rings of Power<\/em>\u00a0would be compromised by adapting a Second Age Saruman, since no such Saruman was ever described in detail in the books.\u00a0However, Saruman wasn’t always the bitter, cynical traitor that Peter Jackson shows in his movies,<\/strong>\u00a0and a more heroic version of him would be fascinating to see. Additionally,\u00a0Rings of Power<\/em>\u00a0has excelled at showing prequel content for\u00a0Lord of the Rings<\/em>\u00a0characters so far.<\/p>\n

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An optimistic Saruman could be a great addition to the show while demonstrating the first inklings of his later fall from grace.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

Rings of Power<\/em>\u00a0is a definitive prequel show, depicting\u00a0Lord of the Rings’<\/em>\u00a0Second Age, whereas the movies show the Third Age. However, the show showcases versions of characters that are younger than their most widely known Third Age counterparts. For instance,\u00a0Rings of Power<\/em>‘s Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) is more reckless and less wise. Likewise, the show’s Gandalf has only just arrived in Middle-earth and isn’t in control of his powers yet. An optimistic Saruman could be a great addition to the show while demonstrating the first inklings of his later fall from grace.<\/p>\n

The Stranger has always been one of\u00a0Rings of Power’s<\/em>\u00a0main characters, and adding Saruman to proceedings would flesh out his arc even more. Even\u00a0before it was clear that the Stranger was Gandalf, he brought a joyous innocence to the show,\u00a0<\/strong>while Sauron and Galadriel’s subplot normally comes across as quite dark. This levity is key to an adaptation that resembles the tone of\u00a0Lord of the Rings<\/em>, which is a wise aim, knowing the success of the novel and movies. The show could explore this aspect of Gandalf further through a Saruman appearance, playing to its strengths.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Tolkienian Age<\/th>\nEvent Marking The Start<\/th>\nYears<\/th>\nTotal Length In Solar Years<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Before time<\/td>\nIndeterminate<\/td>\nIndeterminate<\/td>\nIndeterminate<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Days before Days<\/td>\nAinur entered E\u00e4<\/td>\n1 – 3,500 Valian Years<\/td>\n33,537<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pre-First Age Years of the Trees (Y.T.)<\/td>\nYavanna created the Two Trees<\/td>\nY.T. 1 – 1050<\/td>\n10,061<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
First Age (F.A.)<\/td>\nElves awoke in Cuivi\u00e9nen<\/td>\nY.T. 1050 – Y.T. 1500, F.A. 1 – 590<\/td>\n4,902<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Second Age (S.A.)<\/td>\nWar of Wrath ended<\/td>\nS.A. 1 – 3441<\/td>\n3,441<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Third Age (T.A.)<\/td>\nLast Alliance defeated Sauron<\/td>\nT.A. 1 – 3021<\/td>\n3,021<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Fourth Age (F.A)<\/td>\nElven-rings left Middle-earth<\/td>\nFo.A 1 – unknown<\/td>\nUnknown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Saruman could join the show in season 3 or 4 for an origin story of the friendship and rapport between him and Gandalf. This would be non-canonical and could be divisive, but it would illustrate the depth of Saruman’s later betrayal if viewers have an awareness of the friendship that may have once existed between him and Gandalf. Moreover,\u00a0the show could portray Tolkien’s lore on Saruman<\/strong>\u00a0heading out east,<\/strong>\u00a0which is specified in\u00a0The Silmarillion<\/em>. Saruman was in the east before he settled in Orthanc.<\/p>\n

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If Rings of Power shows Saruman in Rh\u00fbn, it wouldn’t contradict canon, only further developing it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

The eastern land of Rh\u00fbn\u00a0is a mysterious place in Middle-earth, and\u00a0Rings of Power<\/em>\u00a0is painting detail into it. This is controversial, as the Rh\u00fbn arcs are original material and therefore don’t represent Tolkien’s views. However, they allow the show a creative opportunity to interpret Tolkien’s key themes in a novel setting. If\u00a0Rings of Power<\/em>\u00a0shows Saruman in Rh\u00fbn, it wouldn’t contradict canon, only further developing it.\u00a0The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0may have an interesting opportunity in the form of Saruman, in more ways than one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power\u00a0has nearly the identity of its Dark Wizard, creating the question of whether one key\u00a0Lord of the Rings\u00a0cameo will occur. While viewers asked who Sauron was throughout\u00a0The Rings of Power\u00a0season 1\u00a0and who the Stranger was in season 2, season 3 will be all about the Dark Wizard’s 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