Amazon’s The Rings of Power series has already brought back several characters we know from the Lord of the Rings films. Now fans have also spotted the wizard Saruman, they believe
With a month to go before the start of season 2, Amazon is treating fans of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power to new glimpses of the upcoming eight episodes of the fantasy series almost daily. The season 2 trailer a week ago was followed by a making-of for new creatures and other short teasers with new video material. In one such video, a new character has now been revealed who is strikingly reminiscent of Gandalf’s fellow wizard Saruman
Another wizard in season 2 of The Rings of Power: Will Ciarán Hinds play Saruman?
Season 2 of The Lord of the Rings series will show Sauron’s rise to power with the help of the newly forged Rings of Power. As part of this, many new additions join the cast.
Some of them, such as shipbuilder Círdan, have already been introduced to the public. Others, such as the character played by Northern Irish actor Ciarán Hinds (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2), have so far remained nameless. However, a new short promo video has now provided the first glimpse of the actor in his role – prompting fans to shout “Saruman!” in the comments. But judge for yourself (at second 10):
Your return to Middle-earth is getting closer. pic.twitter.com/B80M2wLDUz
– The Lord of the Rings on Prime (@TheRingsofPower) July 29, 2024
The light-colored robe, the bushy eyebrows, the long hair and the special beard drawing: Many Lord of the Rings fans see a great resemblance in Ciarán Hinds to Saruman actor Christopher Lee, who had embodied the iconic role in Peter Jackson’s Middle-earth films:
(Lord of the Rings stars: Christopher Lee as Saruman compared to Ciarán Hinds)
While we’re still waiting for confirmation after season 1 as to whether the Stranger really is Gandalf, Amazon already seems to have the next wizard in place. Tolkien had five Istari. Saruman the White led the Order of Wizards, which also included the Grey (Gandalf), the two Blues (Nameless) and the Brown (Radagast).
In Tolkien, the five Istari only appear in the Third Age. The Amazon series, however, seems to introduce the wizards into the series plot as early as the Second Age. It was only late in Frodo’s time that Saruman turned to evil and became a major opponent for Rohan with his Orcs and Uruk-hai in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. This means that if Ciarán Hinds is really playing Saruman, he would still have to fight with the Elves against Sauron in season 2 of The Rings of Power.
