The Hobbit was full of funny lines, but Gandalf forgetting the names of Lord of the Rings’ Blue Wizards was hilarious in its own way. There are many reasons behind Gandalf’s forgetfulness in this scene in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, released in 2012 and directed by New Zealand legend Peter Jackson. Ian McKellen’s Gandalf was a familiar anchor in the movie for fans of Jackson’s first Lord of the Rings trilogy, which was widely celebrated. The movie introduced the brilliant Martin Freeman as Bilbo Baggins but never got to introduce the Blue Wizards.

Along with Gandalf, Saruman, and Radagast, the Blue Wizards make up Lord of the Rings’ 5 Istari. Istari is Quenya (an Elvish language) for “Wizards,” and it refers to the collective of five Maiar selected by the Valar to oppose Sauron on Middle-earth. The Valar, Tolkien’s demigods, were working under the One creator, Eru Ilúvatar. High up in Middle-earth’s chain of command, the Istari were incredibly powerful but veiled their power to avoid the kind of worship Sauron sought. But the Blue Wizards were particularly veiled in The Hobbit, with Gandalf revealing little more than a suggestion of their existence.

Gandalf Forgetting The Blue Wizards Is Because Of The Hobbit’s Rights

“I’ve Quite Forgotten Their Names” Is An Inside Joke

Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies didn’t have the rights to mention the Blue Wizards by name. This movie franchise, which exists within the wider Lord of the Rings franchise, still does not have the rights and likely won’t have them before it completes its 2026’s The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum. The Warner Bros. LotR movie franchise has the rights to make films adapting The Hobbit and LotR, including its appendices. The Blue Wizards are not mentioned in either text, but the Istari are.

This gave Warner Bros. just about enough wiggle room to mention the existence of the Blue Wizards. However, they could not use any of the information included in The Silmarillion or Unfinished Tales, which did go into more detail on the Blue Wizards. Unfinished Tales hints that the Blue Wizards were called Alatar and Pallando. The Hobbit’s script hilariously signaled its lack of rights to use these names with Gandalf’s iconic “I’ve quite forgotten their names” line, making it an industry inside joke. The Tolkien Estate has never yet awarded any company full rights to The Silmarillion or Unfinished Tales.

What Happened To The Blue Wizards?

The Blue Wizards’ Fate Is Mysterious

The Istari arrived in Middle-earth by boat and then went their separate ways, with the Blue Wizards going east. Saruman, otherwise known as Curunir, came first. This eldest member of the Istari was followed by the others, with all five arriving around the year 1000 of the Third Age, according to LotR’s appendices. While Gandalf was closest with the Elves, Saruman was closest with Men, and Radagast became friends with the beasts and birds. Saruman journeyed east, like the Blues, but unlike them, he returned. Tolkien never confirmed the fate of the Blues but offered speculation.

Unfinished Tales confirms that “some hold” that the Blue Wizards turned to Sauron, failing the mission set them by the Valar and falling under the spell of the greater Maia. Tolkien considered anyone from Rhûn an Easterling. Since Lord of the Rings’ eastern land of Rhûn was as far away from the western Aman and the Valar that lived there as it could be, Easterlings were influenced by Morgoth and Sauron more readily. Unfinished Tales also mentions how the Blue Wizards could have continued fighting the good fight or died, in which case their spirits would likely have returned to Valinor.

The Blue Wizards Could Play A Bigger Part In LOTR’s Future

The Two Eastern Istari Could See More Screen Time

Although they only get a mention in The Hobbit, the Blue Wizards are likely about to see a resurgence on screens in Amazon Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. While The Rings of Power season 2 finale confirmed that the original character the Stranger was actually Gandalf, season 3 seems likely to follow a similar structure. The Dark Wizard was introduced as a mysterious Istar in season 2, and his idenтιтy will probably be uncovered in the season 3 finale given how season 1’s final episode was also used for an idenтιтy reveal.

The Dark Wizard is based in Rhûn and has accumulated a mysterious cult surrounding him, with fairly unscrupulous tactics, including violently killing someone thought to be his ally. Pioneering fantasy writer J.R.R. Tolkien said of his inventions, the Blue Wizards, “I suspect they were founders or beginners of secret cults and ‘magic’ traditions that outlasted the fall of Sauron.” All said and done, The Rings of Power strongly suggested the Dark Wizard’s idenтιтy as that of a Blue Wizard. Viewers have likely been watching a Blue on their screens all along, and season 3 may even reveal a second one.

Rings of Power showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay shut down speculation that the Dark Wizard was Saruman on a Reddit Q&A, perhaps confirming that he was a Blue Wizard. Without issuing spoilers, they commented, “It is our expectation that [the Dark Wizard] will be one of those two.” The Istari lost some of their memories on coming to Middle-earth, which partially explains Gandalf’s forgetfulness of the Blues in The Hobbit. However, he may be directly acquainted with one in The Rings of Power, offering viewers an unprecedented take on Tolkien’s most enigmatic Wizards.

Source: Reddit