The length of the theatrical version of Lord of the Rings is nothing to sneeze at. Peter Jackson’s Academy Award winning fantasy epic isn't just one of the best stories to hit the silver screen, it’s one of the longest as well. The runtime of all three Lord of the Rings movies combined is just over 9 hours. The extended editions are even longer clocking in at almost 12 hours.

It might seem like there wasn’t much left on the cutting room floor with numbers like that, but that’s definitely not the case. There are tons of great scenes that seemingly should’ve been included in the theatrical versions of the movie, but were saved for the extended editions instead. Even more surprising, there are scenes that were conceived, or even shot in their entirety, that didn’t make their way into either version of the trilogy.

Some of these scenes are great, others would have just added a necessary detail to the plot or fleshed out the world, and most are a mixture of both. But they're all sequences that, for one reason or other, should have been in the main trilogy, even if they would've padded out that runtime even more than normal.

So without further ado, here are 15 Deleted Lord of the Rings Scenes You Won’t Believe Were Cut.

15. The Scouring of the Shire

It makes a certain amount of sense why this pivotal scene from the books didn't really make the theatrical cut, having only been seen in a mirror of Galadriel as a “possible future.” No movie adaptation of The Lord of the Rings has ever seen the hobbits return from their adventures to find their home in chaos and under attack. This important moment from the source material not making it into the extended editions, however, is a little strange.

It’s a cleaner ending to The Return of the King if everything winds down after the Ring is destroyed, but cleaner doesn’t always mean better. The Scourging of the Shire manages to show how far Frodo and crew have come when they return home. Fighting for the Shire might be anticlimactic after literally saving the world, but it's the last and most important step in the hobbits’ journey as heroes. It proves their meddle and heroism one final time.

14. Theodred’s Funeral

Theodred’s funeral is a very short scene for a very minor character. Though his death is important in Two Towers, most casual viewers probably don’t even know who Theodred is, and don’t even realize that he's only the biological son of King Theoden. (Theoden is Eowyn and Eomer's uncle, not their father.)

For all this, it's still a lovely and heartbreaking scene of grief. Which is important, as expressions of grief are strangely missing in a war epic like Lord of the Rings.

As much as it is a funeral for Theodred, it is really an acting spotlight for his cousin, Eowyn. Miranda Otto is superb as she delivers a funeral dirge for her departed prince. The music of Lord of the Rings doesn’t get enough credit, and Otto’s rendition of Eowyn’s lament is heartbreakingly beautiful. Thankfully, it can be found in the extended editions, but for such a small and well-acted scene that so adds much to the atmosphere of the movie, it should've never been left on the cutting room floor.

13. Frodo and Sam Disguising Themselves as Orcs

In the theatrical cut of Return of the Kings, Frodo and Sam kind of simply walk into Mordor, probably much to the ghost of Boromir's chagrin. It's fine a leap in logic. It does take them three rather lengthy films to get to Mordor anyway. In the extended editions, their trek into the dangerous land is explained, in a great and tense sequence where they disguise themselves as orcs.

The trope of the heroes dres as the villains and infiltrating their ranks is something that has been seen in everything from Star Wars. It might be familiar, but it works. This deleted scene is not only a source of great anixety, as the pair are nearly caught and ripped apart by the orcs, but it’s also another great example of the literal weight on Frodo’s shoulders. He nearly collapses at one point and almost ruins the whole ruse for them.

12. Aragon Singing About Beren and Luthien

This is the second musical moment on this list, and despite Howard Shore’s magnificent work on the trilogy, it'll be the last. This quick deleted scene from Fellowship of the Ring doesn’t add much new information, so we can certainly wrap our heads around the decision to ship it off to the extended editions. It still manages to be one of Viggo Mortensen’s best scenes in the movie -- and perhaps the trilogy at large.

Aragorn wakes Frodo up singing the ancient tale of Beren and Luthien, a human and an elf who fell in love. The parallels to Aragorn and Arwen should be obvious, and they're clearly painted on Mortensen’s face.

Lord of the Rings finds other ways to get into Aragorn’s head and emotional state, especially concerning his relationship with Arwen. But this scene is so economical and perfectly understated that it's a shame that it wasn’t kept in the movie somehow.

11. Galadriel’s Gifts

Galadriel does hand out gifts in the theatrical version of Fellowship; it’s just greatly reduced from what is found in the books and the extended edition of the film. The theatrical version of the film has the most important gift, narratively, The Light of Earendil, and not much else.

It’s pretty obvious why it's shortened in the theatrical version. The movie is already rather long at that point, and the meeting with Galadriel occurs just after Gandalf’s “death.” It wouldn’t seem totally appropriate to hand out presents while in mourning.

Galadriel isn’t anywhere close to Santa Claus and always talks like someone has died anyway, so it should’ve worked. While the theatrical version mainly focuses on her understanding of Frodo, the extended edition makes clear with the other gifts that her understanding extends outside the ring bearer. The gifts add important foreshadowing for the rest of the trilogy, as well as elevate Galadriel’s status as an all-knowing and important figure.

10. Eomer Finds Eowyn on the Battlefield

Let’s be honest: Karl Urban’s Eomer gets the real short-shift in the theatrical cut of the trilogy. He's present and ed for, sure, but he doesn’t really do anything. Instead it's Eowyn who, for very good reason, becomes the face of Rohan.

The extended editions give the character his due. No deleted scene is more important for him than the moment where Eomer finds his sister on the battlefield, seemingly lifeless. Otto’s portrayal grief at Theodred’s funeral is moving, but Urban’s terrified screams as he finds his sister, who he didn’t even know was at the battle, is just gut-wrenching.

Everything has a happy ending. Eowyn survives the trilogy, and there's not much more that comes of Eomer’s horrific discovery besides momentary madness. Still, it's a masterclass of acting by Urban and another example of the very human toll that the war has on the characters of the epic.

9. Arwen’s First Meeting with Aragon

This is the rare scene that, like the Scourging of the Shire, didn’t make into any version of the films. It was glimpsed in a teaser trailer for The Two Towers, but nothing more happened with it. A lot of Arwen footage was exorcised from the second movie but this one feels particularly significant.

Viggo Mortensen and Liv Tyler manage to do a lot with very little in building Arwen and Aragorn’s tragic love story. It’s clear from their very first scene that there is deep and abiding love between them. It’s still completely unknown to film fans how the two met, however, which would have made this cut scene so helpful.

Of course, it also helps that Arwen and Aragorn are one of the best cinematic love stories of all time. Any chance to spend more time with them and their story would've been a welcome opportunity. It might've slowed Two Towers down a bit, but we don't imagine many would've complained about seeing more of these two.

8. The ing of the Elves

The sequence is one of the most gorgeous in the entire trilogy, and any version of it. The moment occurs when Frodo and Sam see elves for the first time as a group of them is exiting Middle-earth. The ing features one of the most soothing and powerful pieces of music on the soundtrack, and it adds so much to the world.

While the heart of the scene is in Sam’s excitement over seeing elves, it’s truly a tragic moment for everyone. The ing of the Elves, while pretty to look at, is the first real hint that there is something seriously wrong in Middle-earth in the movies.

It’s a sign of all the drama (and misery) to come from the rest of the story, but it's rendered in a breathtaking way. The Elves are leaving Middle-earth, and with them, a little less hope is being sucked out of the tale.

7. Arwen at Helm’s Deep

After being a relatively major character in Fellowship of the Ring, Arwen pretty much disappears from Two Towers. Liv Tyler has a few scenes in the middle chapter, but most are either flashbacks or dream sequences. The original plan was for Arwen to be involved much more in the second film. In fact, the first cut of the battle of Helm’s Deep had Arwen participating, in a drastic departure from the books.

It was ultimately completed removed from the canon of the movies. (Although in one quick shot from the movie, Liv Tyler can be glimpsed in the background of Helm's Deep.) The rumored reasons for Arwen being removed from the battle are unconfirmed and wide-ranging, but the consensus is that most book fans didn’t care for the change.

Despite those fans' opinions, it still would've been an interesting dynamic to add into the big battle. The elves are already a part of Helm’s Deep in the movies anyway. To have the elves come to Aragorn’s aid without Arwen almost seems silly. It’s especially weird that it’s not even included in the extended Two Towers, since most of the footage was filmed.

6. Frodo Becoming Gollum

There's no scene that exists (or was even planned) where Frodo literally turned into Gollum. This scrapped moment occurred as a dream sequence on Faramir’s part, and it was supposed to happen during in The Two Towers. When Faramir was lured in by the ring, he was evidently supposed to receive a vision of Frodo in a Gollum-like state that would've turned him away and brought him to his senses.

In the theatrical and extended version of the film, Faramir is still drawn in by the ring (like his brother) but he manages to stop himself from making the same mistake. The Gollum vision is missing, which is a real shame, because it sounds like it could've been the best part of the sequence.

If included, the transformation would've immediately underlined the differences between Faramir and Boromir. It might have been startling, but it would have been undeniably memorable.