After much speculation, fans of The Rings of Power have finally learned the identity of the Stranger. The character’s identity was revealed in the Season 2 finale of the Prime Video series, released on October 3. However, according to series creators and showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne, various other options were considered before the true identity of the Stranger was decided.
The Rings of Power creators reveal how The Stranger’s true identity was decided
In the Season 2 finale of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series, it was finally revealed that the Stranger is none other than Gandalf, a member of the Istari order and one of the main characters in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings novels. However, McKay and Payne revealed in a recent interview that they looked into other possibilities for the Stranger’s potential identity before going with Gandalf, who was born with the name Olórin in the ancient land of Valinor.
“No one will believe us, but this was a journey of discovery for the character and the characters around him, and it was a journey of discovery for the writers,” McKay explained in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. “We wanted this to be the origin story of a wizard coming to terms with who he is and what he has to do.”
Payne elaborated, “Deep in the history of Middle-earth, Volume 12, he confirms that Olórin had already visited Middle-earth. So Tolkien left it open that Gandalf may have come earlier than the Third Age. But there were also things that we discovered inside the story that really seemed to fit with the character as you meet him later on.”
The Stranger, portrayed by Daniel Weyman, arrived on Middle-Earth via a meteor in the series premiere. His identity was shrouded in mystery until the Season 2 finale. In the finale, fans get to see him take on the Dark Wizard and get his staff. He even says, “Gandalf… That’s what they’re going to call me, isn’t it?”
Saruman and the Blue Wizards were briefly in consideration to be revealed as the Stranger. However, McKay and Payne stated that they moved on from these ideas because they didn’t make sense for the narrative. By the end of Season 1, they had already decided that the Stranger would be Gandalf. He signals this by saying his classic line “When in doubt… always follow your nose” in the Season 1 finale.
