10 Biggest Changes LOTR: The Return Of The King Makes To The Book

J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings novel was known for its huge scope and wide range of characters, which Peter Jackson’s Return of the King movie partially adapted, but it left out some key elements. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was the third Warner Bros. picture in its Lord of the Rings trilogy, preceded by The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Jackson’s closer to the LotR trilogy left a powerful impression on viewers, but it was at the expense of a few of the novel’s highlights.

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Jackson couldn’t include every detail in the novel. The theatrical version of Return of the King had a blistering runtime as it was. Nonetheless, Jackson created an extended edition of his movie for fans like him, which included many scenes he had cut from the theatrical edition. Even considering The Return of the King’s extended edition, the final part of Jackson’s trilogy was not a totally faithful depiction of the end of the Third Age in Tolkien’s Middle-earth. Some of Jackson’s changes made more sense than others, but together, they created one of the highest-grossing fantasy movies ever.

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10 Jackson’s Movie Cut The Prince Of Dol Amroth

Imrahil Was Important In The Book

Prince Imrahil, the Prince of Dol Amroth, had a big presence in The Lord of the Rings novel but was completely cut from the movie. The Prince of Dol Amroth was a Dúnadan of Gondor, which in and of itself would have been an important concept to work into the movie. Aragorn was a Ranger of the North, a group of the Númenórean-descended Dúnedain, but there wasn’t much explanation of this complex concept in the movie, leading many to misunderstand the Dúnedain.

Granted, not all the intricacies of Tolkien’s lore could make their way into the movie. There were, after all, multiple appendices documenting thousands of years worth of history included in The Lord of the Rings. But in the case of Prince Imrahil, perhaps a little exception could have been made, and more could have been revealed about Gondorian society, allowing for Imrahil’s inclusion.

9 Gimli Had A More Humorous Role In Return Of The King

Gimli Wasn’t Used For Comic Relief In The Book

Gimli was one of the sturdiest members of the Fellowship of the Ring in the book but he was more of a comic relief character in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Gimli was the Dwarvish representative of the book and he was suitably heroic. The movie sold him short to a certain extent by giving him funny lines. These funny lines made for a winning movie and an endlessly popular character, but they didn’t encourage viewers to take Gimli seriously as a warrior.

Related Are Dwarves Immortal In Lord Of The Rings? How They Age In J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lore

Many of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy races had superhuman lifespans, and Dwarves were one race that lived longer than humans in The Lord of the Rings.

Tolkien had probably intended for his readers to take Gimli fairly seriously. The tone of Lord of the Rings was fairly serious overall, but characters like the Hobbits and Tom Bombadil brought levity and humor to the dark story, so levity was obviously one of the core components of Tolkien’s story. That makes Gimli’s comic role in Return of the King more Tolkienian.

8 The Movie Didn’t Show Gimli And Legolas Traveling

Gimli And Legolas Extended Their Bromance In The Book

Gimli and Legolas probably had the second most important bromance in The Lord of the Rings, with Frodo and Sam’s relationship taking first place. Gimli and Legolas made friends throughout the novel and this was fully solidified by part three, The Return of the King. In the third part of the novel, Gimli and Legolas made good on their promises to each other to travel to their respective bucket list locations. Gimli took Legolas to the Glittering Caves of Aglarond, which would have been intriguing to see on screen as it foreshadowed Gimli’s later colonizing of this realm.

Gimli became Lord of the Glittering Caves, cementing his status as one of the greatest Dwarves Middle-earth had ever seen. Legolas also took Gimli on his travels to Fangorn Forest, proving that their friendship surpassed all boundaries in Lord of the Rings, including centuries of racial conflict and distrust. More of this bromance would have been enjoyable in Return of the King, but it is understandable if it wasn’t Jackson’s priority.

7 The Movie Downplayed Faramir And Éowyn’s Romance

Faramir And Éowyn Had A Beautiful Storyline In The Book

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Faramir and Éowyn’s romance didn’t appear in Return of the King’s theatrical addition at all. However, the extended edition made some amends here, including some detail on their relationship. Faramir and Éowyn had a tough time, despite being Gondorian and Rohirrim nobility, respectively. They struggled, despite being two of the stories’ biggest heroes, so when they found each other at the end of the story, it was a relief for them and readers both. Faramir and Éowyn truly represented the best of each of their respective worlds – Gondor and Rohan.

With Gondor symbolic of the ancient friendship between Men and Elves, and the Rohirrim symbolizing Men at their purest, the union of Faramir and Éowyn was no less than the marriage of Tolkien’s two most honorable human civilizations. Gondor and Rohan were age-old allies, but drama blighted their bond in the lead-up to Return of the King. So, for them to come together so victoriously, in the form of Faramir and Éowyn’s marriage, was a major resolution of Tolkien’s story.

6 Saruman Died Impaled On His Own Machinery

Saruman’s Soul Flew Away In The Book

Gríma Wormtongue saw to Saruman’s passing in both The Lord of the Rings book and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, but Saruman’s death was different in the movie. It was a good thing Jackson decided to include Saruman’s death at all, having originally decided to cut it from his trilogy. Jackson first plotted to show Saruman dying in The Two Towers, then deleted the scene. It took campaigning from fans and Saruman actor Christopher Lee to get the scene returned to the trilogy, which it eventually did, in the form of a scene in Return of the King’s extended edition.

Saruman’s death in this scene consisted of him being stabbed by Wormtongue atop Orthanc and falling to his death, ending up impaled on his own machinery. The book saved Saruman’s death till near its very end when he appeared just as shriveled up as his dark soul, which departed in a sinister cloud after his heart failed. This was a little more descriptive of his fall from grace, but at least Jackson showed his death at all, as opposed to ignoring Saruman’s fate.

5 Aragorn Killed The Mouth Of Sauron In The Movie

Aragorn Wasn’t This Violent In The Book

Aragorn beheaded the Mouth of Sauron in a shock move in a scene that never appeared in the theatrical edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. This was additional content added to Return of the Kings’ extended edition that was perhaps best left on the cutting room floor. Fantasy master Tolkien championed peace in his novel, and Aragorn’s competence as a leader had more to do with his diplomacy than his ability to chop heads off.

The Mouth of Sauron was a diplomat seeking to speak to another diplomat, and Aragorn’s betrayal of this unspoken truce in
Return of the King
was a kingly faux pas.

Although Aragorn was an outstanding soldier, gratuitous violence was out of character for him. The Mouth of Sauron was a diplomat seeking to speak to another diplomat, and Aragorn’s betrayal of this unspoken truce in Return of the King was a kingly faux pas that could have triggered another century of feuding if Frodo hadn’t toppled Sauron successfully. Mostly, it lacked compassion (to say the least), which was one of Aragorn’s strong suits in the book.

4 Denethor Was Worthy Of Pippin’s Oath In The Book

The Movie Portrayed Denethor As A Villain

Denethor was a vile specimen of humanity in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which was a miracle of filmmaking but a misrepresentation of the scarred but noble king of the novel. It also made Pippin’s allegiance to him a little meaningless, compared to the complex relationship that the two developed in the novel. Pippin swearing fealty to an abusive father didn’t do either Pippin or Denethor justice. Conversely, Tolkien described Pippin’s oath to Denethor as an almost inexplicable act of bravery and wisdom.

Pippin swearing fealty to an abusive father didn’t do either Pippin or Denethor justice.

Pippin’s character judgment was on point in the novel – he had seen past Denethor’s resentment to perceive the noble heart of all of Gondor, carried on the shoulders of an old, tired man. Pippin’s allegiance to Denethor was one of the founding pillars of the Hobbits’ future greatness and recognition in Middle-earth. It was a shame this didn’t come through in the movie, but John Noble’s despicable Denethor may be just as much of a treat.

3 Peter Jackson’s Movie Took The Eye Of Sauron Literally

Sauron’s Eye Was Metaphorical In The Book

In The Return of the King movie, Sauron was a huge, disembodied eye flickering between the two peaks of Barad-dûr like so much filament in a halogen bulb, but he was a blackened demon lord in the book. The Lord of the Rings’ eponymous villain had “four fingers on the black hand.” Meanwhile, his body was “an image of malice and hatred made visible.“

The all-seeing eye was powerful and unforgettable imagery, recalling the oppressive Big Brother of George Orwell’s dystopian 1984, watching and dominating everything.

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The Silmarillion confirmed that “the Eye of Sauron the Terrible few could endure,” which was intended metaphorically, considering the clear signs of Sauron’s physical body throughout The Lord of the Rings. Jackson used creative license to take this literally, resulting in one of cinema’s most iconic villains. The all-seeing eye was powerful and unforgettable imagery, recalling the oppressive Big Brother of George Orwell’s dystopian 1984, watching and dominating everything.

2 Frodo Didn’t Send Sam Away In The Book

Sam Stayed With Frodo Through Thick And Thin In The Book

Frodo and Sam shared a beautiful friendship in both The Lord of the Rings book and The Return of the King movie, but they fell out in the movie, which would never have happened in the same way in the book. In the Warner Bros. movie, the One Ring was affecting Frodo’s mental state, and he sent Sam away in anger. Frodo wouldn’t have done that in the book. More extraordinarily, Sam actually left Frodo, as Frodo advised.

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Sam was even less likely to leave Frodo than Frodo was to send him away. This could seem like a traitorously unfaithful take on Tolkien’s beloved book. However, Jackson’s change here didn’t disrupt the unbreakable bond between the two Hobbits because Jackson made it abundantly clear that only something as toxic as the One Ring could have driven them apart. In this sense, Frodo and Sam’s temporary separation played nicely into the wider themes of the movie.

1 Return Of The King Cut Out The Scouring Of The Shire

The Movie And Book Had Different Endings

The climax of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was Frodo’s defeat of Sauron, with the movie winding down after that, but the action didn’t stop there in the book. Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin returned home in what should have been triumph, but they were instead met with Saruman’s invasion of the Shire. Foreseen by Sam in Galadriel’s mirror, this event was known as the Scouring of the Shire. Jackson’s decision to cut the Scouring of the Shire made lots of sense dramatically. In a way, the question of the entire trilogy had been whether Frodo and Sam would survive.

This provided the focal dramatic tension of Jackson’s adventure trilogy, throwing two provincial civilians into an unprecedented military mission. The Hobbits faced certain doom but were saved by a sudden, unexpected turn of events. Tolkien called this eucatastrophe, coining a phrase that would endure. Jackson captured the emotionally grueling whiplash of this relief immaculately, so throwing the Hobbits back into more danger afterward would have reduced it. Equally, it would be great to see an interpretation of The Lord of the Rings that tackled the thematically important Scouring of the Shire.

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The Lord of the Rings is a multimedia franchise consisting of several movies and a TV show released by Amazon titled The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The franchise is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s book series that began in 1954 with The Fellowship of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings saw mainstream popularity with Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.

Movie(s) The Lord of the Rings (1978) , The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring , The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers , The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King , The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey , The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug , The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies , The Lord of The Rings: The War of The Rohirrim Created by J.R.R. Tolkien First Film The Lord of the Rings (1978) Cast Norman Bird , Anthony Daniels , Elijah Wood , Ian McKellen , Liv Tyler , Viggo Mortensen , Sean Astin , Cate Blanchett , John Rhys-Davies , Billy Boyd , Dominic Monaghan , Orlando Bloom , Christopher Lee , Hugo Weaving , Sean Bean , Ian Holm , Andy Serkis , Brad Dourif , Karl Urban , Martin Freeman , Richard Armitage , James Nesbitt , Ken Stott , Benedict Cumberbatch , Evangeline Lilly , Lee Pace , Luke Evans , Morfydd Clark , Mike Wood , Ismael Cruz Cordova , Charlie Vickers , Markella Kavenagh , Megan Richards , Sara Zwangobani , Daniel Weyman , Cynthia Addai-Robinson , Lenny Henry , Brian Cox , Shaun Dooley , Miranda Otto , Bilal Hasna , Benjamin Wainwright , Luke Pasqualino , Christopher Guard , William Squire , Michael Scholes , John Hurt TV Show(s) The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Character(s) Frodo Baggins , Gandalf , Legolas , Boromir , Sauron , Gollum , Samwise Gamgee , Pippin Took , Celeborn , Aragorn , Galadriel , Bilbo Baggins , Saruman , Aldor , Wormtongue , Thorin Oakenshield , Balin Dwalin , Bifur , Bofur , Bombur , Fili , Kili , Oin , Gloin , Nori , Dori , Ori , Tauriel , King Thranduil , Smaug , Radagast , Arondir , Nori Brandyfoot , Poppy Proudfellow , Marigold Brandyfoot , Queen Regent Míriel , Sadoc Burrows Video Game(s) The Lord of the Rings Online , Middle-Earth: Shadow of War , The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum , The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria Expand

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