Chatting With ‘Rings Of Power’ Sauron And Gandalf — Charlie Vickers And Daniel Weyman Talk Season 3

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power returns today after a two-year absence from the screen. But it comes back with an objective: the forging of the One Ring. It also starts the story anew with a time-jump and the secret of Daniel Weyman‘s Stranger out in the open. He is Gandalf, though not quite the one we recognize.

Nonetheless, he told Comicon.com and other reporters back at Comic-Con International: San Diego that it is a relief to no longer hold the secret close to his robes. “It’s brilliant and it’s also so exciting,” he said. “You come somewhere like San Diego and you see people dressing up, cosplaying. I get to cosplay for my job. When I go into work and I get to wear those robes and the hat and have the staff, it is a dream come true. It really is.”

And its a good thing the Wizard knows who he is as Sauron is now in the open, having declared a war against the Elves of Middle-earth and is well on his way to finally forging the master ring to rule the others crafted by the late Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards).

“I think that’s the real joy of this season for me is that he has a very clear purpose,” Vickers said of Sauron’s aims and his choice to set aside subterfuge for open war. “It’s really nice when you think about the theory of acting, right? He has a really clear goal, but he has a whole bunch of obstacles that he needs to negotiate.”

One of those barriers is, of course, a lack of knowledge to actually craft the Ring. “The guy that he could have used is dead,” the actor quipped. He also admitted that the character still isn’t the full Sauron Lord of the Rings fans will recall from the motion picture prologue. “The character is on his way to that when he loses his fair form,” he explained.

Asked if he’s ready to surrender the character’s fair form — his Elvish or Mannish appearance — Vicker’s said, “Let’s not rush it. We’ll take out time.”

And despite his open conflict with the Elves, Vickers teased “there is still a lot of deception” in regards to some of Sauron’s strategy in the new season.

“It’s interesting because I think about Sauron’s journey, and one of the things is that [J.R.R. Tolkien] wrote it relatively specifically in contrast to everything else,” he continued. “It’s very true to his text that Sauron is very much the hero of his own journey. He’s trying to heal and reorder and rehabilitate Middle-earth. And that will go on beyond this season. He [eventually] goes to Númenor and the manipulation I think comes from his ultimate goals.

“He just wants everyone to get along,” the actor quipped.

Meanwhile, it’s clear to Gandalf that he must confront Sauron, but Weyman suggested a direct one-on-one scene between them may not occur this season. Which, for the actor, is a dream moment as both Gandalf and Sauron come from the same primordial place and are similar in terms of power and abilities. “Would it be amazing to see these two timeless beings come into each other’s spheres again?” he asked. Tolkien readers will know Gandalf expressed a fear of Sauron before coming to Middle-earth and that he is clothed in the guise of an old man to limit his powers, but it is unclear if the new season will address either issue directly.

Granted, the direct path isn’t really Gandalf’s style. Thus, his journey still revolves around finding the right people to battle the Dark Lord. “He’s got a great quote, hasn’t he, about the tides. You can’t control the tides. And actually all you can do is give succor to the lives of those who are there and hope to leave the world in a good place,” Weyman said. “I think that is his central drive. He is serving his own master in a way. I don’t know whether Sauron now feels he’s completely clear of masters.”

The masters are, of course, the Valar. Residing in the Uttermost West of the world, they are of an order of magnitude stronger and wiser than both Sauron and Gandalf, who are lesser spirits known as Maiar. Morgoth, Sauron’s former master, was himself a Vala and, as Vicker teased, “We see a lot more when he goes to Númenor about what he thinks of the Valar.” Tolkien scholars know his position, but it is in Rings of Powers‘ future to dramatize those thoughts and ideas.

At the moment, though, both Maiar have more immediate issues to combat in Middle-earth before the island of Númenor itself becomes the focal point of the story. For Sauron, the Ring still needs to be made. Gandalf, meanwhile, is still in the East and needs to confront the Dark Wizard (Ciarán Hinds). Of these matters, both actors could say little, but more information will be revealed today as The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power returns to Amazon.