"Payne and McKay confirmed the Dark Wizard in The Rings of Power is not Saruman. The duo explain how Middle-earth's history wouldn't for his arrival just yet"

Except the same thing is true for Gandalf and you had no problem rearranging established canon to shoehorn him in.

We've had Saruman. We've had Radagast. We're have PLENTY of Gandalf.

You had this opportunity to bring to life two characters that have no established story that LOTR fans have been curious about for years. And you blew it.