LOTR: How Old Is Sauron And What Can Fans Expect From His Character In The Rings Of Power?

gamerant.com:

Every character in The Lord of the Rings has an origin story. From Galadriel to Elrond, Gandalf to Treebeard. Thanks to the richness of the Tolkien universe, fans have the luxury of combing through their favorite character’s history to find out what makes them tick, what motivates them, where they’re from, and where the allegiances lie. The same can be said for Sauron (a.k.a. the Dark Lord, Gorthaur the Cruel) who didn’t start out as an eyeball in a tower. He even once took physical form (an attractive one at that) and used his talents for manipulation and seduction to usher in some of the most devastating events on Middle Earth.

In Amazon’s new series, The Rings of Power, showrunners Patrick McKay and JD Payne have revealed that the new plotlines will feature “the rise of Sauron himself when he was a physical villain.” They’ve also teased that fans may not know Sauron when they see him right away. This could mean a couple of things, especially when considering that Sauron in the Second Age still has the ability to alter his appearance at will; the first being that Sauron will be introduced as he is in The Simarillion. In the book, Sauron appears at the elven city of Lindon as a Maiar by the name of Anatar, the Lord of Gifts, taking the appearance of a handsome high elf. This is the most likely scenario, however, the writer may have decided to also have Sauron take on another unknown appearance, which will likely be revealed later in the series.

LOTR: How Old Is Galadriel And What Can Fans Expect From Her Character In The Rings Of Power?

Regardless of how Sauron is revealed in The Rings of Power, Tolkien’s works detail many events in the Second Age that not only include Sauron but often center him as the primary antagonist.