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Could the Witch-king be hiding in plain sight in The Rings of Power season 2? One theory has us convinced

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By Molly Edwards published 2 September 2024

The Witch-king might be hiding in plain sight

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Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
(Image credit: Prime Video)
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The Rings of Power season 2 already has plenty to get us theorizing, from the connection between Sauron and Galadriel to the looming Siege of Eregion. 

But one theory about the Witch-king has us pretty convinced that the villain from JRR Tolkien's works is already in the show, hiding in plain sight. 

Now, the Witch-king of Angmar is a pretty mysterious figure in the source material, and his true identity is never revealed. What we do know about him, though, is that he's Lord of the Nazgûl and Sauron's right hand man. 

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According to one fan, the mysterious Dark Wizard introduced in The Rings of Power season 2, played by Ciarán Hinds, could be this villain himself. Most people seem to believe that the Dark Wizard is none other than Saruman, played by Christopher Lee in the Peter Jackson movies – and we have to admit, they do look pretty similar. But this could be a red herring to hide the mysterious wizard's true identity. 

"I've seen some theories saying that Ciarán Hinds' character is not actually an Istar, but a human sorcerer pretending to be immortal, and it just struck me  – could this be our future Witch King?" speculates the fan on Twitter. 

A previous theory suggested that Theo would end up being the Witch-king, but, if you ask us, this one is slightly more convincing. It would be the ultimate bait and switch to fool us all into thinking we're looking at Saruman, while he's secretly another bad guy entirely. 

"You need to watch the show and check it out, but we know that he's out in Rhûn, and there are strange things in Rhûn, many of which he may have set in motion…" co-showrunner JD Payne told us of the Dark Wizard recently. 

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The show is releasing weekly on Prime Video now, and you can check out our Rings of Power season 2 release schedule to keep up to date, or see our Rings of Power season 2 review for our spoiler-free verdict on all eight episodes. 

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Molly Edwards
Molly Edwards
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Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm a Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film section. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.

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