The reveal in Rings of Power that the Stranger is one of the Istari has come as a shock to many of us who know that they do not come to Middle-Earth until 1000 Third Age. Here I would like to cover the Stranger himself in more depth, as well as the history of the five Istari, and will see if I can come up with an idea as to the Stranger’s identity.
The Istari were 5 Maiar, chosen by the Valar, to go to Middle Earth and stir the Free People to fight against Sauron. They were called Curunir, Mithrandir, Hravandil, Morinehtar, and Romestamo. In Valinor they were called Curumo, Olorin, Aiwendil, Alatar, and Pallando. Finally, they were known to men as Saruman the White, Gandalf the Grey, Radagast the Brown, and the Blue Wizrds, who are unnamed.
They came to Middle-Earth in c. 1000 TA. As we know that Rings of Power is taking place in c. 1000 SA to c. 3200 SA, this is a massive discrepancy. They shouldn’t be here until Season 7 or 8, if my estimations are correct ( and I don’t believe they’re passing Season 5). So, our only options are: a) the show has derailed b) the mystics were wrong and he isn’t an Istar, c) he somehow returns to Valinor in order to return in 1000 TA, or d) the term Istar is taken in a less literal sense, maybe he isn’t necessarily one of the 5.
We can now address the fact that he came out of a meteor. As Sadoc said, I have heard of people becoming stars, but never of the stars coming down in the form of people. This reference told me he could be Eärendil, the man who did become a star, but this was a fairly weak theory with almost no supporting evidence. Plus, I don’t think the term Istar would be used unless they were deliberately trying to make us think that he was Gandalf or something, while the truth was something much wilder, and I must admit, that is very possible. I think we can safely say that he’s a Maia, but I hope that, if a Istar in truth, he does not remain in Middle-Earth. There isn’t much to go off of, so I’ll leave it there.