**Spoiler Warning** Rings of Power S2E8 - "Shadow and Flame"

[Tar Elenion]

Originally Posted by Boromir88

I read somewhere that the showrunners have said the Dark Wizard is not Saruman.

The Disingenuous Duo (or McKay) also said this:
DEADLINE: Finally we come to The Stranger and his journey. By the end, he’s called Grand Elf, and shortens it to Gandalf. He also finds the staff we’ve become so used to seeing. He survives the one called the Dark Wizard who proposes the rule Middle-earth together. I thought that was Saruman, but perhaps that wizard comes in later. Talk about the wizards, and the establishment of that signature LOTR character Gandalf.

McKAY: Well, first of all, I would just reflect that I think your assessment of the Dark Wizard being Sauron might be a fairly astute observation.
https://deadline.com/2024/10/lord-of...th-1236106572/

I think the "Sauron" is a typo for "Saruman".