The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 will reveal The Stranger’s identity and “wizard origin story,” as previewed by the show’s bosses. Drawing from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth lore, mainly the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, Prime Video’s series is set thousands of years before the novel and showcases the significant events of the Second Age of Middle-earth. After season 1 introduced Daniel Weyman as The Stranger, who arrives at Middle-earth from a flaming meteor and befriends the Harfoot Nori, Rings of Power season 2 is set to reveal more about the mysterious individual.

In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, executive producers Patrick McKay and Lindsey Weber teased that Rings of Power season 2 will reveal The Stranger’s identity and “wizard origin story.” The producers promise that The Stranger’s journey in season 2 involves his development as a wizard, focusing on his growth from being able to wield magic to learning how to control it, while also exploring his origins and grappling with unanswered questions. Read their full comments below:

McKay: The stranger, God, what is his journey this season?

Weber: Yeah, the veil of you know, his memories lifted a bit at the end of season one, and he’s much more articulate this season, which I’m sure our beautiful actor, Daniel Wayman, appreciated, so we get to see him expressing himself much more clearly with Nori, his partner in crime. But he has many questions that are still unanswered.

McKay: The end of the first season, he figures out that he’s a wizard and that he’s a wizard for good, and now this season is very much sort of an origin story of a wizard. How does he become the adolescent version of himself along the way of his journey? We love the idea of an origin story for a wizard being one of the core storylines in the show, and this is a really big step in his journey. Gosh, I don’t want to spoil anything you know, but certainly, he’ll need a name at some point. Wizards typically have a hat and a staff, and wizards need to learn how to control their powers. And at the start of the season, he’s able to wield power, but not yet control it. And really, his journey is going to be about looking inward and figuring out what he needs to do to be able to do so.

What Is The Stranger’s Identity?

It Will Be Revealed In Rings Of Power Season 2

Though Weber and McKay’s comments above are quite coy, it was confirmed in a separate interview that Rings of Power season 2 will reveal The Stranger’s identity. Talking to Radio Times, co-showrunner J.D. Payne said, “You’re going on the same journey that he is. The ‘who?’ is part of it, but that’s not the entire sundae, that’s the cherry on top. But it will be answered this season.” While The Stranger’s identity will be revealed in season 2, the answer shouldn’t be that surprising, considering many have likely already correctly guessed it.

In season 1, The Stranger reveals that he is an Istar, which is a wizard. In Tolkien’s fantasy world, there are five Istari or Maiar spirits who are sent to Middle-earth by the Valar and assume the appearance of elderly men to aid in the fight against Sauron. Canonically, the five Istari are Gandalf the Grey​​​, Saruman the White, Radagast the Brown​, Alatar the Blue, and Pallando – which narrows The Stranger’s identity down to one of those five.

Throughout season 1, there are many signs that the Stranger is Gandalf. However, the strongest hint comes during Rings of Power season 1’s ending when The Stranger says to Nori, “When in doubt… always follow your nose,” a famous line spoken by Gandalf to Merry in The Fellowship of the Ring. While it’s already a widely accepted theory that The Stranger is Gandalf, audiences won’t have to wait long before such is likely confirmed in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2.