Who is Annatar in ‘Lord of the Rings’

Hype for The Lord of the Rings is at an all-time high, as audiences continue to soak up the second season of Prime Video’s Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

The series shifts the story significantly backward, with its timeline 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 J.R.R. Tolkien’s sprawling world. 

The second season of the highly-anticipated series is changing things up, introducing fresh characters, and even changing the name of one high-profile fixture. Sauron is Sauron no longer, in the latest season of the series, and his name-change comes with a major makeover that some fans have yet to properly process.

Who is Annatar?

The being once known as Annatar goes by a very different name in most Lord of the Rings content. The eventual arrival of Sauron the Deceiver was always guaranteed — and came to pass in the season 1 finale — but as season 2 digs its teeth in, the Dark Lord sports a different look — and a different name — than most fans are familiar with.

The Elf currently helping Celebrimbor to create beautiful shackles for the beings of Middle Earth 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 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 far more easily swayed. He used his influence with the Elven smiths of Eregion — particularly Celebrimbor — 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 against him. Thus, he lost the title of Annatar and became Sauron the Deceiver, the malicious, conniving, and controlling Dark Lord fans have come to know over decades of enjoying the greatest fantasy story ever made.