Who will become the Nazgûl in The Rings of Power?

Last year, Amazon announced the third installment of The Rings of Power with a post detailing the events that will unfold in the upcoming season. One of those events will be the distribution of the Rings and the creation of the Nazgûl. Many fans were already anticipating this given how season 2 ended. Nevertheless, the involvement of the Nazgûl in Season 3 will be a welcome addition, and with it comes many theories about who in the series will don the black cloaks and become the infamous Ringwraiths. Most of those theories will be discussed here today.

So, without any further ado, let the theories begin.

Kemen
Son of the King

Starting with who I assume is the leading favorite for Nazgûlification: Kemen, son of Ar-Pharazôn, is very much in the right place at the right time for Sauron’s plans. As of the end of season 2, the son of the king is currently stationed very close to Mordor, overseeing the re-colonization of Númenóreans in Middle-earth and the restructuring of the old Númenórean port city: Pelargir. After the time jump, I expect he will still be there, ordering people around and growing the population. With that, I expect he won’t be half as childish or as infantile as he was in prior seasons. I think the writers will significantly alter his personality, so he’ll be more in the mold of his father. I expect he’ll be much colder, stern and more calculated — essentially making him a true threat and a better prospect for Sauron’s strategy. While I don’t see him becoming the Witch-king, I can definitely see him becoming one of the three Nazgûl who were of Númenórean descent.

Lord Belzagar
Chief Advisor to the King

After the time jump, Lord Belzagar may see himself in Middle-earth on some excursion set up by Ar-Pharazôn. At this time, Sauron will be searching for prospects, and his interests could be piqued when he comes across Belzagar in the southeast of Middle-earth. This is the character that I believe will become the Witch-king. He seems to be perfectly content with taking a backseat as long as he gets what he wants in the end, which is strikingly similar to the Witch-king when he is under Sauron’s command. Belzager seeks the king’s ear on all matters, and I’m sure he would be eager to show off his new jewelry to Ar-Pharazôn as soon as he returns to the island-kingdom.

As for the third Númenórean who will become a Nazgûl, I don’t believe we’ve met him yet. I assume a new character played by a new actor will fill the role. That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if this particular Nazgûl doesn’t get a lot of screen time anyway, given that the show already has so many characters and plot lines to juggle, it would be quite hard to give each of these men relatively equal screen time and importance. It would be better if the writers choose only a handful of Nazgûl to prioritize while the rest are given a few moments to shine in montages or similar sequences.

Pablo Sciepura

One of the new actors that I believe could fill this type of role is Pablo Sciepura. As reported by Fellowship of Fans a few months ago, Pablo is set to play a “Magician — Upper Class”. This codename is very specific and, to my knowledge, hasn’t been used before to describe a character in the series. Besides a Nazgûl, the only other possibility would be that he is playing a Rhûnic Cultist, but from everything we have seen so far, those are played exclusively by women. That leaves us with the high likelihood that Pablo is playing one of the lesser Ringwraiths from either a Númenórean port city, Rhûn, Harad, or Umbar. It’s worth mentioning that unlike Jamie Campbell Bower, Eddie Marsan, Andrew Richardson, Zubin Varla, and Adam Young, Pablo Sciepura was not mentioned in any press release by Amazon. This ultimately means that Pablo is most likely playing a minor character, and if it is Nazgûl, he will not get a lot of screen time.

Kilta
Soldier of the Gaudrim

Many assumed last season that the head of the Gaudrim in Rhûn — Brank — would potentially become a Nazgûl, if not an outright stand-in for Khamul (the second most-powerful Nazgûl and Easterling lord) himself. Unfortunately, Brank did not live long enough for that hypothetical to become a reality. However, Kilta, a Gaudrim hunter under the command of Brank, escaped from the Dark Wizard’s malice and survived to potentially see another season. Now, you might be thinking: Kilta? Well, he isn’t very special. He’s a tracker and a soldier, not a lord or a king or even a sorcerer. And while you would be correct, Tolkien explicitly states that not all Nazgûl were of nobility or notoriety. Yes, some were, but not all were “Kings of Men” as some may believe [Thanks to the Fellowship of the Ring film prologue. —Ed]. In fact, it wasn’t until AFTER the Men had received the Rings of Power that they became ‘mighty kings, sorcerers and warriors of old’. So, what does this mean for Kilta? It means that while he might not seem very special right now, that doesn’t mean he won’t be in the future. Maybe he’ll become a great warrior or sorcerer. Heck, maybe even a lord or a king. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Zubin Varla

As I mentioned before, Khamul was the second greatest of the Nine and an Easterling Lord at some point in his life. Now, while showrunners McKay and Payne don’t have the rights to the name “Khamûl” (that we know of), that doesn’t necessarily mean they can’t use a stand-in name for an Easterling Lord that becomes a Nazgûl in the show. Zubin Varla is a new actor for season 3 of The Rings of Power and was announced alongside both Andrew Richardson and Adam Young. Because he was announced alongside those two (who are both playing important characters), I’d wager that Varla is playing a character of great significance. That character, I’m assuming, will be Khamûl or at least Khamûl-like. I can see him being an Easterling Lord that Sauron can corrupt fairly easily without much constraint and become a powerful servant to the Dark Lord.

Theo
Boy of the Southlands

Many have theorized since the very start of the show that Theo is going to become a Nazgûl. His story is set up in a way that is perfect for a tragedy, or a decline into the darkness. He’s lost his mom, his father is gone, his home was destroyed, his village was colonized by Númenóreans, and the only person he has left is Arondir. Personally, I believe that as soon as Arondir is out of the picture and Theo is left to his own devices, things will get out of hand very quickly. Maybe as the grasp of the Númenórean colonists tightens on the Southlanders, Theo will seek an opportunity for a power move and attempt to take back the land they stole from him. Maybe Sauron can help with that?

Theo’s Father
The Mystery Man

Okay, hear me out for a second. Theo’s father has always been an enigma in this show. With his absence being particularly noteworthy in season 1, the many Easter eggs that fans have found, and the occasional mention from McPayne in certain interviews over the past few years, it seems as though Theo’s father has a much bigger part to play in the overarching story than what was originally assumed. Now what does this mean for him being a Nazgûl you might ask? Well, maybe Theo’s father has some connection to the line of kings in the Southlands? Maybe he’s a warrior or a mercenary who appears back in the Southlands after the time jump? Maybe Sauron finds him interesting enough to give him a ring of power? I’m really just spitballin’ here but I do think there is a good chance that Theo’s father does show up at some point and plays a vital role in what ultimately happens to the men of Pelargir. Will it be this season? Who knows. All I know is that if he does show up, I think it will be quite interesting to see what it entails.

Hagen
Man of the Southlands

Lastly, we have Hagen. Hagen is interesting because at first glance, he doesn’t really give off potential Nazgûl vibes, but I honestly think that’s a good thing. In my eyes, seeing what happens when just a regular guy is handed an object of immense power could be really interesting. I could see the writers taking the scenario in a lot of different directions; which, naturally, opens up a lot of exciting possibilities.

I did want to mention Ar-Pharazôn as a possible wild card. While it wouldn’t be lore-accurate to suggest that the Númenórean king receives a Ring of Power, it also wouldn’t be the first time the show changed some things up for the sake of drama.

And hey, Shadow of War did it first, so there’s a precedent.