Hype for The Lord of the Rings is at an all-time high, as audiences prep for the official release of Amazon Prime’s Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

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The upcoming series aims to shift the story significantly backward, with its story zeroing in on the Second Age, rather than the Third. All of the stories fans have seen on the big screen so far have taken place well into the Third Age, and this rewind promises to fill in the many missing details about JRR Tolkien’s sprawling world. 

Early trailers for the Prime series have fans enraptured, but they’re also sparking a wave of questions. The appearance of one fair-faced arrival, in particular, is confusing a number of fans, as they wonder after his sinister role in the story of Middle Earth.

Who is Annatar?

The being once known as Annatar goes by a very different name in most Lord of the Rings content. Some fans immediately recognized the menacing figure that cropped up in trailers as none other than Sauron the Deceiver, but others found themselves baffled by his Elfin appearance. There’s an easy explanation for this.

The man set to appear in Rings of Power has yet to become the terrifying evil overlord fans know from the films. Sauron is one of Middle Earth’s most ancient beings, and thus his story started long, long before the events of The Lord of the Rings or even The Hobbit came to pass. 

Sauron is one of the Maiar, and is considered uniquely powerful even among their dominant ranks. He first arrived in Middle Earth in the earliest days of the First Age, and back then went by the name Mairon. He was, in those days, a far cry from the overarching villain that fans know from the films. He was, in fact, a pure and moral being who harbored high hopes for the beings of Middle Earth. A desire to see order dominate across the realms was his undoing, and saw the being that would become Sauron start on his path toward becoming the Dark Lord of Mordor.

Through the First Age, Mairon largely served as the powerful and wily lieutenant for Morgoth, playing both sides as he fed information to Middle Earth’s first Dark Lord. After years of service, defeat led him to slink away and await an opportunity to return. This opportunity arose around five centuries later.

By Year 1000 of the Second Age, Sauron was establishing roots in Mordor and working on constructing Barad-dûr. His influence started to spread, and soon he was corrupting the minds and hearts of men. Elves are not so easily swayed, however, forcing Sauron to shift his approach. He rebranded himself as Annatar and adopted a new, appealing aspect.

Soon, he was friend to many of the most powerful Elves of the Second Age. While some, like Gil-galad, distrusted Annatar’s pretty words and deceptive gifts, others were easily swayed. He used his influence with the Elven smiths of Eregion to manipulate the creation of the Rings of Power, and, in secret, forged the One Ring for himself.

He soon proved himself to be a deceiver, after he donned the One Ring and attempted to exert influence over the Ring Bearers, and the Elves turned from him. Thus, he lost the title of Annatar and became Sauron the Deceiver, the malicious, conniving, and controlling Dark Lord fans are familiar with.