Blue Wizards


Gandalf mentioned in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey that there are two blue wizards, and he doesn't even remember their names. Does anyone else want to learn more about them? Maybe a spinoff movie or tv show? It's hard to believe the world is done with Middle Earth media, althoigh I believe Peter Jackson claimed the Hobbit movies would be the last trip into Tolkien's world.

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There wouldn't be much to tell about their adventures as Tolkien didn't write much about them to begin with.

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The producers/directors/screenwriters could just make things up, using Tolkien's other works as a guide. Peter Jackson did add quite a bit to The Hobbit.

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Even if they did follow that route I don't think there is much to write about. Their entrance into the story line is so brief and sparse with any details that even adding anything new to them would seem pointless.

For my money I would like to see an adaptation of the Kin strife and the decline of Gondor, as well as a story about the early days of the Rohirrim when they entered into the Westfold and became a key ally to the dwindling kingdom of Gondor. You could also do a whole movie on Queen Beruthiel and her mischievous horde of cats.

The Blue Wizards almost come across as an anomaly due to their absence in the Return of the King. Tolkien wrote that they may have fallen away from their mission but in the last great battle it appears that they had no interaction with the Easterlings whom Sauron had control over. It seems that they went even further East of Middle-Earth and fell out of sight out of mind.

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Hmm. I suppose so, but to me it seems weirder that they had such a brief introduction to begin with. Why create the characters if they disappear off the face of the world without another word?

Are those stories you mentioned in another work by Tolkien? I read the Similirian a few years ago, but I honestly don't remember very much from it. Still could be interesting to adapt some of that history/mythology into a tv series or something.

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I agree that their existence is confounding since they were brought to MIddle Earth on an important errand, but that's Tolkien for ya!

Whatever happened to all of the "evil things" after Sauron falls? Do the Orcs slowly shed their green scaly skin and turn back into Elves or Men or both? Do the Trolls turn into stone? He never really explained much about the enemy save the Easterlings and Southrons whom Aragorn afforded a Peace treaty so to speak.

If you read the Book of Unfinished Tales you can find more information on the Galadriel and Celeborn, stories about Numenor, the Rohirrim, the Druedian (Woses), The Palantir stones, and the story of Gondor from right after Isildur dies right up to the Stewards taking over to rule it. There are also some good chapters on the Istari, but it gives most of the attention to Gandalf, Saruman, and Radagast than the Blue Wizards.

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Well, even though Sauron fell, there's still Melkor to deal with, who is basically the devil of Middle Earth, so I don't think the orcs would turn back into elves. They would probably just slink back into their caves and wait for a new warlord to lead them.

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From The Peoples of Middle Earth:

The other two are only known to (have) exist(ed) [sic] by Saruman, Gandalf, and Radagast, and Saruman in his wrath mentioning five was letting out a piece of private information.

The 'other two' came much earlier, at the same time probably as Glorfindel, when matters became very dangerous in the Second Age. Glorfindel was sent to aid Elrond and was (though not yet said) pre-eminent in the war in Eriador. But the other two Istari were sent for a different purpose. Morinehtar and Rómestámo. Darkness-slayer and East-helper. Their task was to circumvent Sauron: to bring help to the few tribes of Men that had rebelled from Melkor-worship, to stir up rebellion ... and after his first fall to search out his hiding (in which they failed) and to cause [? dissension and disarray] among the dark East ... They must have had very great influence on the history of the Second Age and Third Age in weakening and disarraying the forces of East ... who would both in the Second Age and Third Age otherwise have ... outnumbered the West.

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That's an interesting piece of info even if it is from Tolkien's notes, but it in a way contradicts the little details from the other chapters like The Book of Lost Tales where The Blue Wizards are described as failing in their mission to some degree and may have even formed their own cult followings by mortal men in the East.

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The Blue Wizards names are Pallando and Alatar.
see: http://www.annalsofarda.dk/annals-of-arda/Others-index-tables/Others/Pallando.htm

Btw, the reason I knew the name Pallando was because back when The Lord of the Rings films were in production, I used to post on the Ain't It Cool News talkback page. One of the people who hung out there called himself Pallando Blue. Another went by the name morGoth and a third called herself elanor.

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In one of his letters, Tolkien wrote that the blue wizards had failed in their missions, and had given rise to various cults. He seems to have implied that one started the Indian religions and the other the Chinese ones.

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That's an allegorical allusion to Krishna and Buddha but I don't think Tolkien ever meant that at all. Also, if Eru is suppose to be Yaweh then that religion would have been born out of the South of Middle-Earth via the swarthy Southrons whom the Black Numenoreans subdued.

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This info has recently started making the rounds:

The Blue Wizards were never mentioned in The Hobbit or Lord of the Rings books. They were mentioned in later books that Tolkien's son published after JRR's death.

New Line/Peter Jackson only paid for the rights to The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings specifically. They didn't buy rights for any of Tolkien's other material. So if they had Gandalf speak the specific names of the Blue Wizards, they would have been violating copyright law and you can bet your ass Tolkien's son would have sued them in a heartbeat.

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