A guide to all the new and familiar characters on The Rings of Power

Pharazôn

• Actor: Trystan Gravelle
• Books: Unfinished Tales; The History of Middle Earth; The Silmarillion

Later called Ar-Pharazôn, Trystan Gravelle’s character is the last king of Númenor and one of the arrogant and power-hungry men responsible for the destruction of the island.

In the lore, Ar-Pharazôn essentially steals the throne of Númenor from his cousin Míriel, the queen regent and the land’s rightful ruler. Sauron eventually worms his way into the king’s closest circle, becoming a trusted advisor. With promises of immortality and power, Sauron corrupts the false king, convincing him to forsake his faith in the one true god Eru Ilúvatar and instead worship Morgoth.

When Ar-Pharazôn attacks Valinor in an arrogant quest to seize immortality, the Valar call on Eru Ilúvatar for help. The god destroys Ar-Pharazôn’s fleet and sinks the island of Númenor.

In The Rings of Power, Ar-Pharazôn has a bit of a different story. In an interview with Variety, Gravelle describes him as the chancellor of the mythic island with “a deep love for his people, a deep love for his family.”

Being a very innovative individual, I think we’re going to see him try to turbocharge Númenor — its economy and its reputation,” Gravelle said.

Sauron

• Actor: Unknown
• Films: The Lord of the Rings trilogy; The Hobbit trilogy
• Books: The Hobbit; The Lord of the Rings trilogy; The Silmarillion; Beren and Lúthien; Unfinished Tales; The History of Middle Earth

Fans are familiar with Sauron’s presence and role in the Third Age, which includes The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. By that time, he no longer has a body but instead is a powerful, incorporeal spirit wreaking havoc and evil across Middle-earth in search of his One Ring of power.

We all know how his story ends. His physical body is defeated at the end of the Second Age by Isildur, who claims the One Ring and inadvertently keeps Sauron’s spirit alive. Thousands of years later, he’s finally defeated for good when a humble Hobbit named Frodo throws the One Ring back into the fires of Mount Doom from whence it came.

In The Rings of Power, Sauron is the big baddie of Middle-earth. He’s a cruel and cunning dark lord who served Morgoth, whose theft of the Silmarils sparked a brutal and bloody war with the elves. Though being hunted by Galadriel for centuries, Sauron has remained hidden, spreading his influence and shadow in other parts of Middle-earth.

We have not seen Sauron nor do we know the actor portraying him in the Amazon Prime series. Since Sauron takes the form of Annatar to ingratiate himself with the elves, it’s likely we’ll see him in this form rather than in the menacing spiked crown and armor.

In teasers and trailers, a mysterious pale person appears briefly, leading some to guess that this is Sauron in his Annatar form.