<P> During the War of the Ring, it was Gandalf who led the Free Peoples to victory over Sauron . He also became "Gandalf the White", and defeated the traitorous Saruman . After the destruction of Sauron's forces in front of the Black Gate at the mountainous borders of Mordor, Gandalf left Middle - earth and went over the Sea to Aman, along with the Ring - bearers and many of the Elves . </P> <P> In the course of The Lord of the Rings, it is never made clear what exactly Gandalf and Saruman are . Treebeard tells Merry and Pippin that the wizards appeared after the Great Ships came over the Sea (ca . T.A. 1000, according to Appendix B, some 2,000 years before the time of The Lord of the Rings), but little else is revealed in the narrative . Riding with Pippin to Minas Tirith at the end of Book III, Gandalf ponders the ability of the palantíri to see into the past, and recalls events in Valinor from the Years of the Trees--though whether from his own memory is not clear . Later in Minas Tirith, Pippin wonders what Gandalf really is, and realizes that this is the first time in his life that he has done so . </P> <P> The essay given in Unfinished Tales was originally begun in order to be included in the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, but was not completed in time . A more explanatory passage on the nature of the wizards is found at the end of The Silmarillion . </P> <P> In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies, three of the Istari are featured as characters: Saruman (portrayed by Christopher Lee), Gandalf (played by Ian McKellen), and Radagast (portrayed by Sylvester McCoy). Gandalf mentions the two Blue Wizards in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, but comments that he cannot recall their names; this is a reference to the fact that they went unnamed in both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings . In The Hobbit films, it is Radagast who first discovers the presence of the Necromancer at Dol Guldur, and alerts Gandalf who in turn informs the White Council, including Saruman . Gandalf is quick to deduce the Necromancer's true identity, but Saruman is reluctant to accept that Sauron could have returned . At the behest of Galadriel, Gandalf and Radagast meet at the tomb of the Nine Kings of Men, and then travel to Dol Guldur . Radagast is then sent to take word to the White Council while Gandalf enters Dol Guldur alone, where he confronts and is captured by Sauron . The White Council arrived in force to rescue him, with Saruman, Elrond, and Galadriel confronting the evil there while Radagast took Gandalf to safety . Saruman later forbade pursuit of Sauron, feeling that their foe would never be able to rise again, while Gandalf and Radagast later took part in The Battle of the Five Armies . </P>

Color of wizards in lord of the rings