Gandalf is the wizard who guides the heroes in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth stories.
He appears in The Hobbit as the planner who brings Bilbo Baggins into Thorin’s expedition, and he later becomes a central leader in The Lord of the Rings. Gandalf is a Maia, a supernatural being sent to Middle-earth in the form of an old man to oppose Sauron. His original name among the Istari is Olórin.
Gandalf the Grey returns as Gandalf the White after confronting the Balrog on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm. He is not the same character as Saruman, the White Wizard who betrays the Free Peoples, although both belong to the order of the Istari.