Is Gandalf In the New Lord Of The Rings TV Show and Is He The Meteor Man?

The new Lord of the Rings TV series The Rings of Power is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, and naturally fans have a lot of questions about this new look at the fantasy world of J.R.R. Tokien's Middle-earth and the characters that inhabit it. SPOILERS FOLLOW: The first episode of The Rings of Power, "A Shadow of the Past", culminates with a mysterious stranger who comes crash-landing to Middle-earth in fiery meteor. Two episodes in, the show doesn't reveal much about the Stranger (or "Meteor Man"), other than the fact that he clearly has the magical and nature-affecting powers of a Lord of the Rings wizard. 

So who is Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power's mysterious Meteor Man – and is he the show's surprise twist way of (re-)introducing us to Gandalf? 

Is Gandalf the Meteor Man? 

It's easy to look at the Meteor Man in The Rings of Power and see the frail old body, long white beard, magic powers and immediately think: "Oh look, it's Gandalf!" If your just a casual fan of the Lord of the Rings movies or read the books a long time ago, the association would only be natural. But as Tolkien schloars (the do exist) would quickly point out, the Gandalf as Meteor Man theory doesn't work due to the timeline (see below). 

If Meteor Man is actually Gandalf, that would a major upset of Tolkien's established origin for the character. Of course, Gandalf's story is not without its fair share of twists and secrets (like being a bearer of one of the Three Elven Rings), so it's not impossible that Gandalf had a secret and much less glamorous time on Middle-earth before he got his mind in order. The Meteor Man clearly has trouble adjusting to this new mortal form and understanding how it all works – as a Maiar understandably would. 

Then again, Gandalf's character was noted by Tolkien for being the most humble of the Istari (hence his appearance as an old man) and he kind of just pops up on Middle-earth, meeting characters like the elf Círdan the Shipwright and the Hobbits. That's all to say: a fiery entrance by Gandalf seems wholly out of character. 

Is Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings TV Series?

In Tolkien lore, Wizards are actually "the Maiar" which are (to put it simply) like the angelic powers of the cosmos from the "Blessed Realms" known as Valinor. Five Maiar  (the "Istari") were sent to Middle-Earth to oppose Sauron and took human form as the Five Wizards, with Gandalf being the last to arrive. That pivotal event occurred at the star of the Third Age of Middle-earth; The Rings of Power series is set in the Second Age. So, fans should probably NOT expect to see Gandalf in the show – but it's not totally impossible... 

The Rings of Power: Who Is the Stranger?

We have a whole list of theories about Who The Stranger is in Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, but here's the short breakdown: 

• Sauron – One of the central mysteries of The Rings of Power is where Sauron is hiding. At this point in Tolkien history, Sauron is stepping up to be the second Dark Lord to come from the Valar, after the fall of his master Morgoth in the War of Wrath. Sauron is a wonderfully tricky and deceitful enemy who takes on a new "fair-looking" form as Annatar, "Lord of Gifts" before tricking the elves of Middle-earth into forging the Rings of Power. SO, the Stranger could be Sauron beginning his infiltration of Middle-earth. However, since it's been said that "Sauron" will NOT appear in Rings of Power Season 1, this theory could be dead in the water.
• A new character – or spin on someone else from Tolkien lore that we don't recognize yet. 

Read the full article for the deeper breakdown. Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power streams new episodes Fridays on Prime Video.