Saruman appears as a minor villain in "Lego Dimensions", in which he allies himself with main antagonist Lord Vortech. Asteroid 418532 Saruman was named after the wizard and in honor of actor Christopher Lee. The official naming citation was published by the Minor Planet Center on 25 September 2018 (). [a] The volume published as "The Silmarillion" in 1977 contains four books in addition to the "Quenta Silmarillion". The last of these—"Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age"—covers Saruman's earlier history, but was written after "The Lord of the Rings". Note: For ease of reference, citations of "Letters" include
Saruman of the Ring"; in one version he considers throwing himself on Gandalf's mercy. There is also a description of how Saruman becomes involved with the Shire and of how he gradually becomes jealous of Gandalf. Another brief account describes how the five Istari were chosen by the Valar for their mission. Tolkien had been writing "The Lord of the Rings" for several years when Saruman came into existence as the solution to a long-unresolved plot development, and his role and characteristics continued to emerge in the course of writing. Tolkien started work on the book in late 1937, but was