For two seasons of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Gandalf (Daniel Weyman) didn’t even know he was Gandalf. The mysterious Stranger spent years wandering Middle-earth, struggling to understand his magical powers and whatever cosmic forces brought him there. But after being crowned “Grand Elf” at the end of season 2, Gandalf is finally ready to face the real challenge he was meant for.
“He’s been trying to understand what it really means to be a true wizard and what his calling is, and I think he’s understanding that now,” actor Daniel Weyman says in a new Prime Video featurette ahead of The Rings of Power season 3. “What he wants to do is live his life so that the good in Middle-earth can flourish.”
Gandalf’s greatest strength has never been his capacity to overpower his enemies, but his ability to recognize goodness in others, inspire courage, and give ordinary people the confidence to accomplish extraordinary things. That’s the Gandalf audiences know from The Lord of the Rings, and following a five-year time jump after season 2, Weyman’s version of the character is finally beginning to resemble that vision of Gandalf the Grey.
In an interview with Polygon, Weyman explained that Gandalf’s time with Tom Bombadil between seasons has fundamentally changed his understanding of what it means to wield power.
Gandalf’s greatest power isn’t magic
“I think there’s a softer power to Gandalf now,” Weyman tells Polygon, describing a wizard who has become less interested in controlling outcomes and more focused on helping others discover their own potential. “He’s not so eager to control everything and is more willing to understand that his journey is about being present with people, seeing their goodness, and reflecting it back to them.”
Consider his relationship with the halflings he encounters, from Elanor “Nori” Brandyfoot all the way to Frodo Baggins nearly 5,000 years later. Gandalf recognizes their potential and inspires heroism in these humble smallfolk. His faith in their courage and compassion proves more important to the fate of the world than any spell he might cast.
Gandalf hasn’t become a more accomplished magician after training with Tom Bombadil. He’s learning the wisdom and restraint that will eventually define the character. That’s what ultimately makes him a better wizard and defines the natureo of his power.
The transformation is also apparent in his physical appearance. Weyman notes in Amazon’s featurette that Gandalf’s hair and beard have grown, his costume has changed, and he now carries his staff constantly. Whereas the Stranger so often walked with a bit of a hunch, Gandalf now stands upright with a new sense of self-assuredness.
“Just the way that he moves and the way he sits in his being is different,” Weyman says. “He’s now got the staff continuously with him. I feel it has taken on a sort of friendship role.”
It’s a subtle thing that’s not always spelled out cleanly, even in the original trilogy. Whereas Sauron’s ultimate aim is to control all of Middle-earth, a wizard’s mission is the opposite: to provide guidance while relinquishing total control. “He understands that all he can do is his best and that the outcome is not necessarily his to determine,” Weyman says.
The Rings of Power co-creator Patrick McKay agrees that season 3 marks a major turning point for the character.
“He’s a wizard now, and that changes the equation,” McKay said in the featurette. “He’s playing the same character, but in such a different stage of his life.” Reckoning with the scope of that life — which lasts many thousands of years — is a big part of Gandalf’s journey this season.
Gandalf’s new purpose faces its first major test
That philosophy is deeply rooted in J.R.R. Tolkien’s mythology. Gandalf is an Istari, a group of powerful spirits sent to Middle-earth to help its people resist Sauron. Although the wizards can wield magic, their mission is to guide, advise, and encourage the people of Middle-earth to stand against evil rather than confront evils like Sauron directly themselves.
Perhaps because wizards are essentially angels bound to mortal flesh, they are prone to strangely human flaws like hubris or distraction. As such, several of them struggle with this mission. Saruman becomes obsessed with acquiring power for himself, convinced the only way to defeat Sauron is to rival him in strength. Radagast mostly neglects men, elves, and dwarves in favor of squirrels, birds, and raccoons. And, until now, the remaining two wizards have been a total mystery lost to time. That mostly left Gandalf as the lone wizard actually doing his job properly.
Season 3 continues Gandalf’s complicated relationship with the dark wizard Pallando, played by Ciarán Hinds. The mysterious figure has been associated with the eastern lands of Rhûn, and his history with Gandalf appears to stretch back much further than either character initially understood.
“Gandalf realizes they have history, and it’s gotten lost in the mist of time about who they are, what their mission is,” the actor portraying Pallando explains in Amazon’s featurette.
For Gandalf, that forgotten history creates an opportunity to put his newfound philosophy into practice. As Weyman puts it, his mission is going to “start with winning your old friend back.” Gandalf’s instinct isn’t to defeat someone who has strayed from the right path. It’s to help that person find their way back. And that may be a considerably more difficult challenge than simply winning a magical duel.
When asked outright about Gandalf’s goals this season, Weyman tells us it is “to see the goodness in others” and “rekindle hearts that have gone cold.” The first of many is Pallando, and McKay describes their conflict as something far more “esoteric” than something like the wizard duel between Gandalf and Saruman in Lord of the Rings.
Their dynamic also reinforces one of Tolkien’s most important ideas about the nature of power. True wisdom doesn’t come from being able to impose your will on others. It comes from recognizing that even the most powerful person in the room cannot make someone else choose goodness.
After two seasons spent searching for his identity, Gandalf finally has a better understanding of his calling that will get even clearer as we move forward into The Rings of Power season 3. The question is no longer whether the Stranger will become the wizard audiences recognize. It’s whether he can inspire others to become the people they’re meant to be and how they might stand up to the evil growing in Middle-earth.