Is the white-haired character in Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power actually a human Sauron? With Amazon's The Rings of Power set during J.R.R. Tolkien's Second Age, Sauron returning as the main villain was always inevitable. Alas, the Dark Lord has been conspicuous by his absence thus far, not appearing in any official marketing materials, promotional images, or trailer footage.
That's now changed thanks to Amazon's The Rings of Power SDCC 2022 trailer. Sauron is referenced by name for the first time when a creepy old man asks a young boy, "Have you heard of him lad? Have you heard of Sauron?" Galadriel, meanwhile, reminds everyone "he has not one name... but many." Although Sauron doesn't obviously appear in The Rings of Power's SDCC trailer (the chap in black armor could be Joseph Mawle's Adar), many believe this mysterious character - a serpentine, slight figure wearing religious garb - is the Dark Lord in disguise.
The white-haired villain was originally reported as Anson Boon, but is now believed to be portrayed by Bridie Sisson instead. Either way, the Sauron speculation is certainly plausible. The figure is shown draped in white robes with two unidentified followers, then seemingly casting some dark and fiery magic. If their evil aura wasn't enough of a giveaway, those glazed eyes hint that Middle-earth's most famous villain could return to plague The Rings of Power. Sauron, of course, is largely remembered as a towering warrior clad in black armor. Why does this version look human, or is the real Sauron yet to appear?
Why Sauron Looks Human In LOTR: The Rings Of Power
During J.R.R. Tolkien's Second Age, Sauron possessed a power he lacked during The Lord of the Rings - shape-shifting. After escaping Morgoth's First Age downfall, Sauron steadily rebuilt his forces before resurfacing. Rather than coming back looking like the frontman of a Norwegian black metal band, Sauron used his transformative powers to appear as a beautiful stranger called Annatar. Under this guise, Sauron would deceive the elves into creating the Rings of Power as part of a grander plan involving the One Ring. Centuries later, the Dark Lord would take a human form yet again while imprisoned in Númenór, convincing King Ar-Pharazôn to follow Morgoth's teachings. Sauron's power to change appearance only disappeared after Númenór's downfall and the intervention of Eru, the God of Tolkien mythology.
As such, it's perfectly possible for Sauron to adopt a human exterior in Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The white-haired figure in Amazon's Second Age tale may herald the arrival of Annatar, and the beginning of a grand deception. On the other hand, Tolkien wrote Annatar as beautiful and elf-like, whereas this villain looks like the most sketchy kid in Middle-earth. The Rings of Power may be extending Tolkien's mythology with a brand new face of Sauron, but due to the actor confusion, it's also possible that the mysterious hooded zealot isn't Sauron at all, but rather a random follower of evil attempting to bring their master back.
How Sauron Became An Eye In Lord Of The Rings
Those familiar with Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movie trilogy will likely remember Sauron as a roving eye of fire positioned above Mordor's Barad-dûr tower, keeping a lookout for everything apart from two Hobbits carrying his favorite Ring. This physical depiction of Sauron was large conceived for live-action. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings novels barely describe the Dark Lord following his return to Mordor, leaving appearances to reader imagination. Tolkien never describes Sauron as a big literal eye, however, and actually alludes towards the villain possessing a body when Gollum mentions spying his fingers while being tortured. The "Eye of Sauron" as written by Tolkien was an unseen, intangible, ghostly presence that allowed Sauron to perceive events across Middle-earth, rather than an actual eye of fire constantly surveying the land.
Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies chose to represent Sauron's all-seeing power as an over-sized eye for the purposes of visual film. That won't be necessary in The Rings of Power, where the Dark Lord not only retains his body, but can shape-shift to blend in anywhere.
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