Why Doesn’t Gandalf Mention the Blue Wizards in ‘The Hobbit’ or ‘The Lord of the Rings’?

‘The Lord of the Rings’ universe was enlarged by Peter Jackson’s ‘The Hobbit’ trilogy, which introduced new plotlines and brought back well-known characters like Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) and Gandalf (Ian McKellen).  Despite its shortcomings, particularly its departures from J.R.R. Tolkien’s original work, the films expanded the knowledge of Middle-earth, especially in relation to the Istari.  The other two, the Blue Wizards, were hardly mentioned, with Sylvester McCoy’s character, Radagast the Brown, being presented as the third wizard to appear on screen.

Martin Freeman’s character Bilbo questions Gandalf about the other wizards in ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’.  When speaking of the Blue Wizards, Gandalf acknowledges that he has “quite forgotten their names,” although he does name Saruman and Radagast.  Given that Tolkien had given them the names Alatar and Pallando, this looks like a strange omission.  Since it introduces Radagast, the scene is simple to ignore, but it’s a brilliant, self-aware comedy that fans might not see right away.

Image Courtesy: MovieWeb

Gandalf’s forgetfulness is a subliminal reference to the movie’s legal constraints rather than a critique of his advanced age.  Only ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and ‘The Hobbit’, which contained the majority of Tolkien’s appendices, were under Warner Bros.’s exclusive rights; neither ‘The Silmarillion’ nor ‘Unfinished Tales’, which contain references to Blue Wizards, were.  The movie deftly recognizes their existence without going against copyright limitations by having Gandalf “forget” about them.

 The Blue Wizards ventured east into the uncharted territories of Rhûn in Tolkien’s works and never came back.  Some hypotheses assume that they secretly battled Sauron, while others contend that they were corrupted or created their own mystical cults.  Gandalf’s line in ‘The Hobbit’ is a nice Easter egg for fans who are aware of the deeper knowledge, even if the movies never looked into their fate.

–Farheen Ali