Tomorrow, Prime Video will debut the third season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, its epic fantasy show based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. And while The Rings of Power's first two seasons took their time exploring the nooks and crannies of Tolkien's Second Age, season 3 won't have the luxury of quiet, fun little storylines. The Dark Lord Sauron is making war on the Elves, and all Middle-earth stands to suffer for it.
It's a good thing then that the forces of goodness are getting back-up from one of The Lord of the Rings' most powerful and optimistic figures: Gandalf the Grey. The Rings of Power played coy with Gandalf's identity for its first two seasons, but in season 3 the guessing game is no more. Actor Daniel Weyman is now finally credited as Gandalf instead of the Stranger, and that change comes with a massive tonal for the character, who has had five years to settle into his new role as a Wizard of Middle-earth.
We spoke with Weyman, along with his Rings of Power co-stars Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Míriel) and Robert Aramayo (Elrond) about what's in store for their characters in season 3. And for Gandalf, it's all about getting people to "coalesce around goodness."
Gandalf the Grey has arrived in The Rings of Power season 3
Season 3 kicks off with Gandalf in the desert nation of Rhûn, which is right where we left him at the end of season 2, when he defended his friends the Harfoots and Stoors from the Dark Wizard (Ciarán Hinds). The Stranger's storyline was all about coming to terms with his power and missing memories; season 3 will feature a major evolution as he truly becomes Gandalf.
"Weirdly, the Stranger was became really grippy and needy and wanted to make everything okay with, you know, some sort of shock power. And he's realized that's not the way, that's not his purpose," Weyman explained. "And actually that's not the way you get people to coalesce around goodness. You have to hear people out, you have to understand them. You have to be empathetic and I think that's Gandalf's journey."
The idea of Gandalf embracing his empathy is an interesting one as we head into The Rings of Power season 3, because it is by far the darkest and bloodiest installment of the show to date. Sauron (Charlie Vickers) is fighting to exert control over all Middle-earth by forging the One Ring. It's a beautiful and very Tolkienian idea that one of the keys to defeating him might not lie in more strength, but in a kinder, more compassionate worldview.
Despite that, don't expect Gandalf to have a happy-go-lucky storyline in season 3. Weyman is clear that he's just as much in the mix trying to stop the Dark Lord as the Elves or Númenóreans.
"I think over season 1 and 2, I really felt that we were all in our sort of spaces of peace, largely, all these different worlds going on, these different journeys. And in season three, it feels like everybody's realized that we can't do it on our own. Each of these strands has to somehow unite in order to overcome this darkness that is threatening to engulf us all," he teased.
We'll see what part Gandalf has to play in the fight against Sauron when The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 premieres on Prime Video, this Wednesday, November 11.
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