Dark Wizard and Gandalf from The Rings of Power

The showrunners for Amazon Prime Video’s The Rings of Powerhave revealed the identity of the Dark Wizard, but it opens up another immediate question pertaining to Tolkien lore. After introducing The Stranger for the first two seasons, The Rings of Power season 2 finale finally revealed the character’s identity to be Gandalf. With that mystery closed, however, the Lord of the Rings prequel still has another magical being roaming Rhûn to explain, and this one isn’t as nice. The Dark Wizard, played by Ciarán Hinds, should be one of the show’s main antagonists going forward.

In a recent Reddit Q&A, show creators Patrick McKay and JD Payne told audiences the answer to the mystery of the Dark Wizard’s identity. Rather than prolonging another character ambiguity, an aspect of the series that received criticism over the first two seasons, the showrunners stated their thought process preemptively. They’ve revealed that the Dark Wizard is one of the five Istari, but he isn’t Gandalf, Saruman, or Radagast. That means the Dark Wizard is one of the two mysterious Blue Wizards, which creates an obvious question.

The Istari are the Wizards in Tolkien’s world; a group of Maiar sent to Middle-earth to intervene in the affairs of Men.

The Dark Wizard Is One Of The Two Blue Wizards (But Where Is The Other?)

Did The Dark Wizard Kill His Companion?

The Blue Wizards are vague characters in J.R.R. Tolkien’s lore, and they’re examined most notably in Unfinished Tales. The book reveals some of Tolkien’s thought processes regarding what might have happened to these characters and why they weren’t present in The Lord of the Rings. Now, The Rings of Power will offer its perspective on what happened to them. The idea of the Dark Wizard being a villain is in line with Tolkien’s notes, but it leaves a massive question regarding what happened to the other Blue Wizard.

If the Dark Wizard turned evil, that could imply that he somehow killed his Istar pal at some point in their travels. Or, the other Blue Wizard might just have continued wandering and may never appear in the Prime Video series. Another option is that they’re in cahoots, which would give Gandalf quite the handful to deal with during the Second Age. If he’s dealing with two Istar in the east, it would explain why he wasn’t present during the War of the Last Alliance.

What The Blue Wizards Mean For The Rings Of Power’s Story

Is The Dark Wizard Just An Obstacle For Gandalf?

The two blue wizards walk side by side in a snowy forest in a painted illustration of The Lord of the Rings

On the one hand, meeting the Blue Wizards is fascinating, as it’s one of the biggest mysteries in Tolkien’s universe. On the other, it’s important that they tie to the central narrative in some manner. They could just be an obstacle for Gandalf to defeat, demonstrating his growing strength as a wizard in Middle-earth. Alternatively, maybe Gandalf’s goal in The Rings of Power could be to help the Dark Wizard find his way back to the side of good, as he tried to do with Saruman in The Two Towers book.