'Rings of Power' Premiere: Daniel Weyman on Those Gandalf Theories About the Stranger (Exclusive)
have finally premiered on Prime Video, kicking off season 1 of the prequel series about the Second Age of Middle-earth about a time set several thousand years before the events of and . During this era of peace and prosperity, there are subtle signs of re-emerging evil as many characters’ lives come crashing together. Among them are the lumbering giant (Daniel Weyman), who crash lands on Middle-earth via a meteor, and the Harfoot, Elanor ‘Nori’ Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh), who discovers him. Now that the first two episodes are streaming, both Weyman and Kavenagh address the many theories about the stranger’s true identify, including a popular one that he’s Gandalf, the wise and powerful wizard originally played by Sir Ian McKellen in Peter Jackson’s film adaptations of the novels. [: Spoilers for the first two episodes of .] While Hobbits are canon, and led J.R.R. Tolkien’s previous books, Harfoots are new to the overall franchise.