Summary

• Jackson's LOTR movies left out key plot points to fit cinematic constraints, altering characters and storylines for better or worse.
• Some changes, like cutting Tom Bombadil, streamlined the narrative, while others like Erkenbrand's omission affected the depth of the story.
• The adaptation's success depended on bold commercial choices to bring Tolkien's expansive world to the big screen.

Peter Jackson's critically acclaimed The Lord of the Rings movies adapted J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings novel, but they weren't always faithful to the source material. Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies left out a lot of Tolkien's content. The movies' theatrical editions all have long runtimes compared to other releases as it is, and Jackson likely couldn't have crammed in much more. The movies necessitated substantial change to the source material due to the inherent challenge of adapting books to cinema, and in particular, adapting Tolkien's vast, sprawling narrative into commercially viable movies.

Even bearing this in mind, some of the changes Jackson made to Tolkien's characters were questionable. However, extended editions of The Lord of the Rings movies were released which added back some of the story that seemed like it was missing from the theatrical editions. As unbelievable as it now seems, many hadn't heard of Lord of the Rings before Jackson's movies, and Jackson's team had to secure vast sums of money to manifest its vision, so the project was a huge risk for many. Jackson's difficult, bold, commercial choices ultimately allowed for the existence of these flawed but fantastic movies.

15 Frodo Left Bag End Ages After Bilbo's Party In The Book

The Fellowship of The Ring Compressed The Book's Timeline

The book introduced the Shire and its residents at a far more leisurely pace than Peter Jackson's movies. In Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, Frodo Baggins acquired the One Ring at Bilbo's party in the year 3001 of the Third Age and left Bag End in 3018. In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, this timeframe appeared significantly compressed.

Frodo began his quest 17 years after becoming a Ringbearer, a time period which The Lord of the Rings took delight in describing. This part of the novel set up the Shire and Frodo's relationship with Gandalf and his Hobbit friends. The Fellowship of the Ring cuts this detail. Unfortunately, 17 years of Hobbit life probably had no place in Jackson's three-hour movie.

14 The Fellowship Of The Ring Didn't Show Barrow-wights

Jackson Cut Tolkien's Terrifying Barrow-wights

In the "Fog on the Barrow-downs" chapter of The Fellowship of the Ring, the Hobbits face Tolkien's frightening Barrow-wights, which the movie cut. Frodo's mission really started taking the shape of a high fantasy epic here, drawing in frightening monsters that Frodo and company only just escaped. This would have been incredible to see on the big screen.

Jackson's decision to cut the Barrow-wights partially made sense in the grander scheme of his Fellowship of the Ring movie. Although including one detail of this subplot would have made The Return of the King make a lot more sense. Merry's blade, which compromised the Witch-king, was only capable of such magic as an ancient blade recovered from the Barrow-downs after Merry's narrow escape. This information would have provided useful context for the Witch-king's defeat.

13 Tom Bombadil was Cut From The Fellowship Of The Ring

One Of Tolkien's Best Characters Didn't Make The Movie

Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies excluded Tom Bombadil because he didn't advance the plot. The first movie in The Lord of the Rings trilogy had a lot of ground to cover, so there was no space in its runtime for thematic elements that were superfluous to the overarching narrative. Peter Jackson explained this choice in the DVD Appendices to The Fellowship of the Ring:

What does Old Man Willow contribute to the story of Frodo carrying the Ring? What does Tom Bombadil ultimately really have to do with the Ring? I know there’s Ring stuff in the Bombadil episode, but it’s not really advancing our story.

Tom Bombadil was significant in The Lord of the Rings, carrying symbolism around nature and pacifism, providing levity, and presenting a unique plot device in Tolkien's wider mythopoeia. Bombadil was a mystery Tolkien inserted to help develop a convincing set of fictional myths. For this reason, perhaps Bombadil's exclusion from the movies wasn't such a bad thing after all, leaving him safely shrouded in mystery.

12 Arwen Drove Off The Ringwraiths In The Movie

Glorfindel Withstood The Nazgûl In The Book

One huge change Peter Jackson made from the book to the movie was swapping Glorfindel for Arwen at the Ford of Bruinen as the one to rescue Frodo from the evil Nazgûl. In the book, the heroic Elf Glorfindel rescued Frodo. However, Jackson gave Arwen a bigger role to help the audience warm to her character as Aragorn's love interest.

Glorfindel was a highlight of the books but was only one of many incredible characters in The Lord of the Rings. The problem with adapting a huge range of characters is that it wouldn't allow the on-screen adaptation to be character-driven, as it wouldn't allow enough time to be spent on each character. Character development is normally quite key in Hollywood blockbusters, and it's true that Arwen could have easily fallen flat with less screen time.

11 Erkenbrand Had A Role In The Book But Not The Movie

The Rohirrim Commander Was A Big Presence In the Book

Rohirrim leader Erkenbrand's place in the War of the Ring was huge in The Lord of the Rings but was cut completely from Jackson's movies, mostly replaced by Karl Urban's Éomer. The Lord of the Rings was a war story, among other things, reflecting Tolkien's own experience at war. So, his books fleshed out the war of the movie and its battles in far greater detail, with lots more nuance.

The anime movie The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim will be released on December 13, 2024.

Perhaps cutting Erkenbrand worked for Jackson's movies for the same reason that cutting Glorfindel did, but Jackson's movies could have taken a more Tolkienian approach to war. Jackson's funny action movies were a hit, which is a good thing, but they occasionally felt like they trivialized war compared to Tolkien's book. This may have been avoidable with more detail around its strategy, losses, and heroes like Erkenbrand.

10 Jackson's Movies Let Down The Prince Of Dol Amroth

Prince Imrahil Didn't Feature In Peter Jackson's Movies

Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth was yet another character from the source material that was not featured in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, or The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Imrahil seemed important to the book, siding with Aragorn during his ascendancy to the throne, helping to legitimize his claim. He was also Faramir and Boromir's uncle and was even more closely related to the Elves than Aragorn, as another Dúnadan.

In The Lord of the Rings, "Legolas looked at him and bowed low; for he saw that here indeed was one who had elven-blood in his veins," proving the potential for a heroic Númenórean ing character. However, introducing characters this late in action or adventure movie franchises wasn't standard practice. It could confuse an audience and detract from its time spent forming emotional connections with existing characters in the lead-up to the finale.

9 Saruman's Fate Was A Mystery In The Two Towers

Saruman Diminished Even Further In the Book

The theatrical editions of all three Lord of the Rings movies ignored Saruman's fate, but Saruman's character kept developing long after Aragorn's coronation in the book. Saruman died grotesquely in the extended version of The Return of the King after serious backlash from fans and Saruman actor Christopher Lee about cutting Saruman's death from The Two Towers.

In both the book and movie, Saruman's arc ended with him being betrayed and stabbed by Wormtongue. In the book, Saruman shriveled up, showing how far he had fallen. However, in the extended edition of The Return of the King, Saruman fell from Orthanc and died impaled on a sharp spike on a wheel. Saruman was a Maia, and in the book, his spirit fled the scene. But there is no such spirit seen rising from Saruman's corpse in the movie.

8 Éowyn's Romance Was Shown In An Extended Version

Faramir And Éowyn Offered A Dark Story Some Redemption

Faramir and Éowyn were both huge characters in the book, but it is perhaps only Éowyn's side of this duo that shone through in Jackson's movies. Éowyn may be The Lord of the Rings' most prominent female character, so it made sense for Jackson to focus on her in his trilogy. Faramir and Éowyn both endured lifelong struggle, despite being nobility of their realms, so for Tolkien to end their arcs in a romance was one of the brightest points of redemption and hope in a dark narrative.

Frodo's story was one of PTSD, and his arc ended with him sailing to Valinor. This offered a fantastical solution to his problems but could be seen as a sad indication of the real-world difficulty of overcoming his struggle. There are no Valinors for real-life war veterans. Faramir and Éowyn's story was a relief in such a sad tale. Jackson's movies were more light-hearted than the novel in some ways, so this relief wasn't as needed as it was in the book. However, this still felt like an important piece of the puzzle. Jackson did show Faramir and Éowyn in the Houses of Healing in Return of the King's extended edition.

7 Gimli Was Used For Comic Relief In the Movies

Gimli Was A Serious Figure In The Book

Gimli, in Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, presented a serious departure from Tolkien's novel, often being used for comic relief. The Gimli of Tolkien's story was a far more serious figure and portrayed as perhaps the sturdiest member of all the Fellowship, excepting maybe Gandalf. Gimli was a popular member of the Fellowship in the movies, but if an adaptation ever retrod this ground, it would be good to see the awe-inspiring hero of the book emerge.

Gimli and Legolas were both older than Aragorn in the book. While Aragorn was rightfully portrayed as the Fellowship's leader in the movie, Gimli's seniority could have come through a little more. Gimli's arc in the books extended into The Lord of the Rings' appendices. While it's true that no movie trilogy could ever hope to adapt all of those, perhaps some of Gimli's achievements could have informed the movies more - Gimli became Lord of the Glittering Caves in the book, helping rebuild the gates of Minas Tirith.

6 Gimli And Legolas Went On Further Travels In The Book

Legolas And Gimli's Friendship Changed Middle-earth

Perhaps the main importance of Gimli and Legolas was their Middle-earth-shattering friendship which overcame centuries of prejudice between Elves and Dwarves. Jackson's movies did show Gimli and Legolas' blossoming friendship, which was a highlight. But the movies didn't show the idyllic aftermath of the War of the Ring, whereby Gimli and Legolas got to continue their friendship.

In Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, Gimli and Legolas promised each other to travel together if they survived the War of the Ring. They survived, of course, and visited Gimli's choice of destination - the Glittering Caves - followed by Legolas' choice of destination - Fangorn Forest. Perhaps the best illustration of their friendship breaking all the rules was Legolas bringing Gimli with him to the undying lands at the end of the story, which the movies cut.