The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 1 will reveal the identities of the gray hooded trio. Set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Amazon Prime Video's new fantasy series explores the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth's history. The show has been praised by critics as a worthy Lord of the Rings prequel, though panned by fans for deviating too much from Tolkien's legendarium, among other reasons.

Rings of Power begins during a time of relative peace as evil is beginning to re-emerge in Middle-earth. Because Prime Video's series is based on Lord of the Rings and its appendices, Tolkien fans already know many of the major events the show is building towards, such as the forging of the titular Rings of Power, the rise of Sauron, the fall of Númenor, and the last alliance of Elves and Men. However, Rings of Power provides no shortage of mysteries in the form of characters like the Stranger, who has been affectionately dubbed Meteor Man. Rings of Power episode 5 introduces even more mystery characters – a trio of individuals in white robes known as the Dweller, the Nomad, and the Ascetic.

Related: What's Really Happening In The Southlands In The Rings Of Power

During an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, Wanye Che Yip discussed the show's recently introduced mystery characters. Though he couldn't say too much out of fear of spoiling what's to come, the Rings of Power director did confirm that season 1 will reveal the identities of the hooded trio. Read what Yip said below:

What I fear [is] that anything that I say is gonna give that bit way, just because there's... It's meant to be a little tease for the second half of the season. And so, I don't feel I can say anything without massively spoiling what's to come. But needless to say, it was exciting to introduce a different culture and a different race of people that have been mentioned in the text but never seen... We will know exactly who they are and where they come from, which plays a big part in that particular storyline.

Who Are The Rings of Power's Hooded Trio?

Gray Hooded Figure Rings Power Episode 5

Fans have been speculating about these mysterious hooded figures ever since they appeared in Rings of Power's SDCC trailer and now, the trio has finally made their debut in episode 5. The episode's end credits refer to the leader as the Dweller (played by Bridie Sisson), while their companions are called the Nomad (Edith Poor) and the Ascetic (Kali Kopae). Executive producer Lindsey Weber revealed that the three traveled to the crater “from far to the east—from the lands of Rhûn” and they appear to be searching for The Stranger, though nothing else is known for certain about the mystery characters.

The Dweller, the Nomad, and the Ascetic were created solely for The Rings of Power and thus, are non-canonical. However, there are hints in Tolkien's source material as to who the three mystery characters might be, which Yip teases. Popular theories suggest they were sent by Sauron from the Cult of Melkor or the Blue Wizards from Rhûn to find The Stranger. With so many possibilities as to who the hooded figures may be, the good news is that audiences won't have to wait too long to find out their identities in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.