Is Saruman In The Lord Of The Rings The Rings Of Power Season 2

Is Saruman in The Rings of Power Season 2?

For one thing, Hinds’ costume, hair, and makeup (briefly glimpsed in the above promo) all align with what you’d expect from a younger incarnation of the White Wizard. In the Lord of the Rings books, author J.R.R. Tolkien described Saruman as still having “strands of black” in his silvery beard and flowing locks. Tolkien’s other works also note that Saruman’s mop and facial fuzz was originally dark. Hinds sports a black beard and hair in The Rings of Power, and the former contains wisps of white – a coincidence? Probably not. Then there’s the apparent motivation of Hinds’ Wizard to consider. According to showrunners J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay, the unnamed Istar starts out Season 2 searching for the Stranger. Given the likelihood that the Stranger is really an amnesiac Gandalf, it would make sense for Saruman – as head of the Istari – to track him down and straighten him out!

When Does Saruman Arrive in Middle-earth in the Books?

Saruman is the first Wizard to reach Middle-earth in Tolkien’s canon, and arrives roughly 1,000 years into the Third Age. That’s around the same time Sauron begins his second tilt at conquering Middle-earth, and it’s no accident: Saruman and his fellow Wizards are there to help stop him! These timings don’t align with Rings of Power‘s own chronology, which introduces its Wizards in the Second Age. The show also implies that Gandalf – the last Wizard to hit Middle-earth’s shores – showed up first, not Saruman. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 arrives on Prime Video on August 29, 2024.