Is Gandalf in 'The Rings of Power'?
We have been looking forward to this coming on the first light of the fifth day... ah, sorry, flashbacks.
Warning: the following article contains spoilers for 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power '
Despite the fact that 'The Rings of Power' is taking place hundreds of years before the events of 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit', quite a few familiar characters make an appearance in it. Isn't it just convenient to be able to live for centuries?
However, it seems that aside from Galadriel, Elrond, and Sauron, we are getting a certain white-wizard-to-be: Gandalf. Is he also a part of 'The Rings of Power' events?
Played by Sir Ian McKellen, Gandalf is one of the few characters who appeared in every LoTR movie, be it the original trilogy or 'Hobbit' movies. However, there's a chance 'The Rings of Power' is going to be the very first LoTR property not to feature McKellen's fan-favorite wizard. There were absolutely no rumors about McKellen's involvement in 'The Rings of Power', and there's no mention of the show on his IMDb page. Still, it's definitely too early to lose hope.
While the show does not seem to be putting it out there, many fans believe that yes, he is. At some point in the show, a stranger appears, and he just so happens to draw symbols that are very similar to Gandalf's rune and is able to speak to fireflies.
However, not everyone is ready to believe that the stranger is necessarily Gandalf (or Olorin, to be more precise). Some argue that he is more likely to be Radagast — whom we already met in 'The Hobbit'.
Besides, this is yet another reason for die-hard Tolkien fans to step in and criticize the show. If the stranger turns out to be Gandalf or any other Istari, it would fall out of line with the canon, because, per Tolkien's books, none of the Istari arrived in Middle-earth before the Third Age, and the events of 'The Rings of Power' are taking place earlier.
Still, it would be too early to confidently say that we now have Gandalf in 'The Rings of Power', because the show might as well just be trying to deceive us. Remember what Halbrand said? Looks can trick you.
The first two episodes of 'The Rings of Power' are currently streaming on Prime Video. New episodes will arrive every Friday.