Last year, actor Ciarán Hinds was announced to have joined The Rings of Power season 2 cast. His character was unknown then, but he is one of the few actors to have previously appeared in both Game of Thrones and Harry Potter before Middle-Earth. Now, he has been confirmed to be a mysterious Istari/Wizard who is specifically wandering around Rhûn in search of his fellow Istari by showrunners J.D. Payne & Patrick McKay:
Círdan isn’t the only newcomer this season, with Game of Thrones actor Ciarán Hinds making the leap from Westeros to Middle-earth as a wizard hunting down Daniel Weyman’s mysterious figure (who may or may not be Gandalf).
It’s still unknown if The Stranger is a prequel version of Gandalf, as that would break J.R.R Tolkien’s lore of when he actually arrives in Middle-Earth. His “Remember, always follow your nose” quote at the end of season 1 would indicate he very much is a younger version from the films. However, due to the entire identity of The Stranger being a massive red herring throughout season 1, this quote could also be another one by the showrunners. It would be a little too on the nose regarding his identity.
Many Tolkien purists would like both The Stranger and this new wizard to be The Two Blue Wizards from Tolkien’s original texts. The two don’t have any backstory from Tolkien’s novels beyond arriving in the Second Age, which would give the show some breathing room to expand on their lore with an original story. Also, the two Blues do travel to Rhûn during The War of the Ring to sow dissent amongst the men still under Sauron. Another popular fan theory is that The Stranger is Saruman before he turns evil.
The Rings of Power returns to Prime Video on August 29th
Ciarán Hinds plays an Istar / wizard in Rhûn!
Very exciting! Ever since the new cast members were announced I was most interested to learn what character he would be playing. I even hoped that he would be playing a wizard. I specifically began watching the great series ROME with… pic.twitter.com/JbXdoplYhK
— Rings Of Power Era (@RingsOfPowerEra) July 13, 2024
Source: GamesRadar