Who is the Dark Wizard in The Rings of Power? Theories on Ciarán Hinds's mysterious character

We've learnt a fair bit about him throughout the season during his search for The Stranger (Daniel Weyman), but the finale episode didn't quite end that mystery once and for all.

In season 2 episode 6, Tom Bombadil (Rory Kinnear) tells The Stranger: "Sauron rises in the West, the Dark Wizard in the East. Every soul in Middle-earth is in danger."

However, when the Dark Wizard finally approached The Stranger in the finale episode, he attempted to get him onside, suggesting their only way of defeating Sauron was together.

When The Stranger said he'd rather walk nameless forever than become Sauron's successor alongside The Dark Wizard, the Istar turned and wrought havoc on the Harfoots, reasoning that The Stranger must feel the suffering that will come to Middle-earth if Sauron is not defeated.

Sent down to Middle-earth by the Valar to counter the threat posed by Sauron, wizards — known as the Istari — are rare, making the appearance of one incredibly notable.

That makes the identity of the Dark Wizard a complicated puzzle: which of the Istari, if any, is he? And if not an Istari, who else could the Dark Wizard really be? We wouldn't be surprised if he returns in a potential season 3 but, for now, here are the biggest theories.

Who is the Dark Wizard in The Rings of Power?

Saruman?

Based on all the evidence, the most likely scenario is that the Dark Wizard is Saruman.

The most obvious clue is that Ciarán Hinds is delivering a first-rate Christopher Lee impression. Donned in white robes and equipped with a threatening staff, Hinds embodies his character with a voice like distant thunder, a sharp nose, heavy bags under his eyes, and black hair flecked with grey and white.

There are subtler hints, too. He has a clear disdain for Hobbits — not quite the older Saruman’s outright contempt, but a visible lack of care and concern, nonetheless.

And, crucially, Tolkien’s canon states that upon arriving in Middle-earth, Saruman travelled eastward into the lands of Rhûn and beyond prior to making Isengard, and Orthanc, his home. What Saruman did during his time in the East is unclear.

These factors are immediately persuasive, and are arguably enough to set Saruman as the likeliest true identity of the Dark Wizard. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it’s probably a duck.

Still, there are some flaws with this theory.

First of all, with his envy, lust for power, and arrogance, Saruman’s descent into evil might have been inevitable, but prior to the War of the Ring and his corruption, he was wise, mighty and benevolent.

While cold and aloof, as the leader of the White Council (a group made up of Saruman, Galadriel, Elrond, Círdan and Gandalf), Saruman was a driving force for good in Middle-earth, helping to keep the threat of Sauron at bay for much of the Third Age.

Conversely, the Dark Wizard is precisely as his name implies: unambiguously dark, callous, and malignant.

The second mark against this theory is that the events of Rings of Power take place during Middle-earth’s Second Age, and Tolkien’s lore states that the Istari — the five wizards — arrived in the Third Age.

But, in the end, while these are both decent arguments against the suggestion that the Dark Wizard is — or will become — Saruman, they’re not bulletproof.

Rings of Power has demonstrated time and time again that it’s more than happy to contort Tolkien’s lore to suit the narrative. The fact that the Istari don’t come to Middle-earth until the Third Age is something that the show is already almost certainly going to ignore, given that The Stranger seems so likely to be Gandalf.

Regarding the disparity between the Dark Wizard’s evil disposition and Saruman’s originally (but admittedly finite) good nature, Rings of Power loves to create backgrounds and origin stories where they’re previously left vague.

Tolkien’s writing explicitly doesn’t state Saruman’s objectives and manner prior to his position as the leader of the wizards and the White Council.

Therefore, it’s theoretically possible that he was originally evil, temporarily turned towards the forces of good, and then reverted to evil again to unite with Sauron. It might raise some eyebrows – and it redefines Saruman’s entire arc – but it isn’t an overt contradiction of lore.

So, where does that leave us? Clearly, all the clues support the working assumption that the Dark Wizard is Saruman.

But, this is Rings of Power, which loves to string out a mystery, and these clues could, in theory, be red herrings intended to trick the audience.

A Blue Wizard?

The Dark Wizard is, obviously, a wizard, and if he’s evidently neither Gandalf nor Radagast, and potentially not Saruman, that leaves only one option: he’s a Blue Wizard.

The Blue Wizards are the most enigmatic of the Istari. The pair strayed from their task to defend against Sauron when they travelled to the East alongside Saruman. But unlike Saruman, they didn’t return.

And that’s pretty much all we know about the two Blue Wizards. Otherwise, Tolkien left the lore surrounding the pair completely ambiguous.

Nothing is known about their individual missions, their successes or failings, or their fate, aside from the fact that they help to demonstrate that Gandalf was the only Istari who stayed true to his purpose rather than straying completely into distraction and self-indulgence.

Now, this lack of established lore would give Rings of Power ample opportunity to craft a story for a Blue Wizard without having to be concerned about the restrictions of Tolkien’s writing. Really, in this case, those restrictions are non-existent.

The elephant in the room, of course, is a simple one. The Dark Wizard isn’t blue, and the Istari are heavily associated with their given colours.

Saruman the White wore white, Gandalf the Grey wore grey, Radgast the Brown wore brown, and it therefore follows that the Blue Wizards wore blue. On the contrary, the Dark Wizard wears pale white robes, and his black staff is set with a red gemstone.

Further, the Blue Wizards would in theory come as a duo, and the Dark Wizard seems to be a lone operator.

Those flaws with the theory aren’t totally fundamental, but they do make this outcome less likely, at the very least.

Khamûl?

If the name Khamûl doesn’t ring any bells, don’t be alarmed. It’s not a name that many Tolkien fans will immediately recognise.

Formerly an Easterling, Khamûl was given one of the nine Rings of Power gifted to mortal men, and therefore transformed into a Ringwraith.

This makes him one of the nine Black Riders: Sauron’s most powerful and terrifying lieutenants. Not only that, but Khamûl was the Ringwraiths’ second-in-command, behind the Witch-king.

Like the Dark Wizard, Khamûl is associated with the East, and most likely had a degree of innate darkness to him that Sauron sought to exploit with his magic rings.

And, with Rings of Power’s emphasis on those titular rings, the Dark Wizard being Khamûl could help to tie various threads together as Sauron’s plan coalesces.

Clearly, there’s one big hole here. The Dark Wizard is quite explicitly one of the Istari, while Khamûl was a mortal man, and most likely a king or warlord from the East: not an Istari.

That alone essentially discounts this theory. Khamûl wasn’t a wizard, and the Dark Wizard is one.

However, don’t completely reject the idea that Rings of Power might introduce Khamûl later down the line.

An original character?

It’s just about possible that the Dark Wizard is an entirely new character; a creation of the show’s imagination. Therefore, it’s currently impossible to entirely discount this option, despite the fact that it’s also extremely improbable.

Unless Rings of Power is willing to create a sixth Istari — a major alteration to Tolkien’s canon — then it’s hard to see how the Dark Wizard could be a new character, or, really, any character other than Saruman.

That said, Rings of Power has been keen to inject original characters and ideas into the story wherever it can, and it would certainly add some unpredictability to proceedings if the Dark Wizard ended up being none of the main suspects.

How could the Dark Wizard be defeated?

Thanks to Tom Bombadil, we now have some sense as to how the Dark Wizard could be defeated - using The Stranger and Secret Fire.

Currently, not much is known about Secret Fire, other than it being a mysterious heavenly power in Eä and Arda.

But we do know it's been giving The Stranger visions, including a terrifying premonition involving his Harfoot friend Nori.

While The Stranger is desperate to save Nori from impending doom, Tom Bombadil tells him if he does that, he can't return to this path and that Middle-earth needs him. So, is it Nori or the whole world?

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 is streaming on Prime Video. Sign up now for a free 30-day Prime Video trial.

Check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on, or visit our dedicated Fantasy hub. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.