Audiences have seen Ciaran Hinds in fantasy IPs like Game of Thrones and Harry Potter, and this year, he’ll join Middle-earth in Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
It’s been confirmed that Hinds will be playing an Istar, a.k.a. wizard in the series, but fans are wondering which one he might be.
Which Wizard is Ciaran Hinds?
Talking to Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Patrick McKay discusses Hinds and his ‘Dark Wizard’ character. He explains, "Even if Sauron is not in every single area, every single story has very strong feelings about Sauron as an antagonist, which is motivating a lot of the action.”
When it comes to the Hinds’ character McKay says that he’s been added to add another point of view regarding Sauron's workings. He adds, "The Dark Wizard has a point of view on Sauron. Ar-Pharazôn out in Númenor has a point of view about Sauron. The elves obviously have a point of view about Sauron, as do Adar and his army of orcs. Some of the storylines are directly set in motion by what Sauron is doing, but some of them are people shadowboxing their own fears — which is also set in motion by Sauron. Those are some of the ways that our different worlds are connecting, all centered around our main villain."
Who are the Wizards of Middle-earth?
When it comes to the lore of Middle-earth, there are five known wizards to have existed in the Third Age, them being Saruman, Gandalf, Radagast, and the two Blue Wizards who are pretty much a mystery as they moved to the south.
It has already been hinted that the Stranger that we meet in the first season is Gandalf, but there is still the question of which other Istari could already be existing around this time.
Just based on the look, a lot of people are already expecting Hinds to be playing Saruman, but if he’s going to be categorized as a ‘Dark Wizard’, it would make no sense for Gandalf to trust Saruman by the time the Third Age kicks in.
With Radagast also being known for being kind of distracted by the animals and nature instead of doing his duty as a Maiar, it’s likely that Hinds could be playing one of the two Blue Wizards—Morinehtar and Romestamo. After all, neither of those wizards ever got characterization, and their fate in the lore has always been left up in the air for the fans.
Could He Be Someone New?
With the Maiar said to have been sent to Middle-earth in the Third Age, it’s possible that there were other wizards walking around in the Second Age that weren't named—and that could be Hinds’ character.
Since the Wizards (or Istari) are just a subset of the Maiar, it’s possible that Hinds could also be a different kind of Maiar that wasn’t an Istari. Some have also theorized that Balrogs could actually be a different form before they became the horned smoke monsters, so maybe Hinds could be a Balrog pre-transformation.
For now, the show is being purposefully secretive about which characters are which, so maybe fans will have to wait until the end of Season 2 to find out which wizard Hinds is playing.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power comes to Amazon Prime Video on Aug. 29.
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