10 Biggest Changes LOTR: The Fellowship Of The Ring Makes To The Book

J.R.R. Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings, inspiring the movies that impressed people all around the world, but there were a lot of differences between the book and the movies. Peter Jackson started off his famous trilogy in 2001 with The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring movie, making substantial changes to the first part of Tolkien’s book. The Lord of the Rings being three novels is a common misconception – there is only one book, but it is often published in three parts. Some of Jackson’s changes to The Fellowship of the Ring were baffling, but many made sense in the grand scheme of moviemaking.

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The Fellowship of the Ring is one of the most beloved movies of all time, and for good reason. Jackson’s movies were a huge risk financially, as The Lord of the Rings was far from widely known at the time, as hard as that may be to believe. Tolkien had many fans, but Jackson’s movies brought his story into the public eye to a whole new level. Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies were original, funny, scary, and touching in a way that defied all genres. Jackson cut content from Tolkien’s book and added twists to help the story succeed on-screen.

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10 Jackson Inserted A Rings Of Power Prologue

Tolkien’s Prologue Concerned Hobbits

The Lord of the Rings book and movies differed in a few key regards, with one making itself evident right at the start of the trilogy. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring had a helpful prologue concerning some crucial backstory on the conflict to come in the movie. J.R.R. Tolkien, on the other hand, provided a prologue that was aptly titled “Concerning Hobbits,” and concerned Hobbits. It provided beautiful world-building, and got readers emotionally invested in the Hobbits.

Jackson’s prologue discussed events of the Second Age of Middle-earth, when the Rings of Power were forged by Sauron, starting off the events that would lead to The Lord of the Rings. This prologue revealed a terrifying Sauron in his Dark Lord form, blessing audiences with Wētā Workshop’s painstaking costume design. Jackson used his prologue to tell important backstory that he would have otherwise had to scatter throughout the movie, which could have been problematic for the pacing of other dialogue.

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9 The Fellowship Of The Ring Skipped Years Of Shire Life

There Was A Time Jump In Jackson’s Movie

In The Lord of the Rings book, there were 17 years between Bilbo’s 111th birthday party and Frodo leaving the Shire, but this didn’t come through in the movies. This time skip helped pacing along and helped Jackson keep the movie to a manageable length. Tolkien populated these years with rich detail, but Jackson would have been hard-pressed to include it all in one feature-length movie, along with the rest of the plot.

Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was long for a feature-length movie, and Jackson had struggled to whittle away content until it was as short as it was. Having deleted a lot of scenes from his original movie, Jackson ended up releasing an extended edition of The Fellowship of the Ring. Nonetheless, he couldn’t cram in 17 years’ worth of Hobbit life – it would have made for a very long movie, and less dramatic tension.

8 The Hobbits Bumped Into Elves In The Woods In The Book

Jackson Left Gildor Out Of The Movie

Frodo and the Hobbits bumped into “Gildor Inglorion of the House of Finrod” and his company in The Lord of the Rings, which Peter Jackson didn’t include in his movie. This fantastic reference to Elf lore of old tied into The Silmarillion, published after Lord of the Rings, and indeed after J.R.R. Tolkien’s death. Finrod was actually Galadriel’s brother and was Lord of Nargothrond and the subject of many stories.

This moment in the book introduced the Hobbits and the readers to the Elves early on, establishing them as beautiful beacons of light in a dark world. This part of the book sowed the seeds of Sam’s fascination with Elves and of the Elves’ fading in Middle-earth. This exposition was done differently in the movie so that Jackson had time to include other vital parts of the narrative.

7 The Lord Of The Rings Movie Cut Out Tom Bombadil

Tom Bombadil Presented Pacing Issues

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One of the biggest and most oft-discussed changes that Peter Jackson made to The Lord of the Rings was his exclusion of the classic Tolkien character Tom Bombadil from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. For better or worse, Jackson missed out a large chunk of the first part of The Lord of the Rings. Tom Bombadil met the Hobbits just after they had left the Shire, as they were wandering through his realm.

Tom Bombadil is easily one of the best characters of The Lord of the Rings, bringing the book a mix of levity, enigma, and spiritual depth. He sings his way through the story, which would have been fun on-screen, but perhaps tonally jarring in a story that had to be dramatic and moving over its three-hour runtime. Tolkien made Tom mysterious on purpose, so his exclusion from the movie wasn’t the worst change Jackson could have made to the story.

6 Peter Jackson’s Movie Cut The Barrow-Wights

The Scary Barrow-Wights Didn’t Appear On-Screen

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring cut one scary monster from its plot. Tolkien wrote a whole chapter about the Hobbits’ unfortunate run-in with the Barrow-wights in the Barrow-downs, which Jackson didn’t adapt. Tom Bombadil rescued the Hobbits from these creatures, which was part of the reason why their inclusion didn’t work. Jackson would have struggled to navigate this subplot without Tom Bombadil.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
seasons 1 and 2 are streaming on Amazon Prime Video, with a new episode out every Thursday.

Plus, the Barrow-wights fulfilled a part of the story – a fantasy monster encounter – that Jackson was able to supply with other creatures that were more central to the narrative. This enabled Jackson to cut them from his movie, reducing its blistering runtime. The Barrow-wights were an epic part of the book, and would be just as epic on-screen – thankfully, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 has brought them to life.

5 Frodo Baggins Fought Back On Weathertop In The Book

Aragorn Was The Hero In The Movie

The Weathertop part of the story played out quite differently in The Lord of the Rings book to how it did in Peter Jackson’s movie. In The Lord of the Rings, Frodo fought back against the Witch-king of Angmar when he attacked him with the Morgul-knife. Frodo came across as somber and serious in the movies, which was to Elijah Wood’s credit, but he didn’t seem particularly capable of defending himself.

This honor fell to Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Whereas Frodo hacked away at the Nazgûl with his own blade in the book, Aragorn was the only one that defended Frodo in the movie. This made Frodo seem a little less heroic than he was, but it helped to build Aragorn as a knight in shining armor. With only three movies to prove Aragorn’s character, Jackson’s choice is understandable, but perhaps discredited Frodo ever so slightly.

4 Arwen Defeated The Ringwraiths In The Movie

Glorfindel Fought The Nazgûl In The Book

The role that Arwen played at the Ford of Bruinen in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring was assumed by an Elf called Glorfindel in the book. This was one of the changes made by Peter Jackson to the story that made the most sense, as incredible as Glorfindel was. Peter Jackson spoke about this change:

The Aragorn-Arwen romance is a lovely part of the story… but if it was filmed exactly as Tolkien wrote it, they would have maybe 10 minutes’ screen time together over 6 hours of film. So we have to find a way to include Arwen in more of the story, to have a chance at creating a meaningful screen romance.

Aragorn and Arwen did indeed have an incredibly significant relationship in Tolkien’s books. They united the clans of Men and Elves, breaking boundaries in a typically Tolkienian way. Gimli and Legolas united the clans of Elves and Dwarves – who were traditionally enemies – in their friendship, which exemplified the same thing. Race, nationality, and family couldn’t stop love in Middle-earth.

3 Peter Jackson Changed Galadriel’s Gifts

Sam And Aragorn Got Different Gifts

Galadriel gave the members of the Fellowship gifts in The Lord of the Rings book and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, but they differed from book to movie. Galadriel was shown giving Frodo the Phial of Galadriel in the movie, which was canonical. Sam was also shown, canonically, with his Elvish rope, although not until a later movie. However, Sam was never shown receiving soil in a box from Galadriel.

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Nor was Aragorn shown receiving the Elfstone from Galadriel. Instead, Arwen gave Aragorn her necklace. Galadriel’s gift to Sam foreshadowed the Scouring of the Shire because it helped him rebuild afterward. Jackson cut the Scouring of the Shire from his trilogy, so Galadriel’s gift no longer made sense. Jackson amplified Arwen’s role in his movie here, as he did at the Ford of Bruinen, to help the audience connect to her as Aragorn’s love interest and a strong protagonist.

2 Sam Looked In The Mirror Of Galadriel In The Book

Sam Foresaw The Scouring Of The Shire

Frodo Baggins looked into the Mirror of Galadriel in both the book and the movie, but Samwise Gamgee only got to look in the mirror in the book. It was actually Sam that foresaw the Scouring of the Shire in the mirror, not Frodo. Sam’s heroism and importance here were reduced to make Frodo’s significance stand out more. Jackson was positioning Frodo as the movie’s main hero, beside Aragorn, and had to keep his script simple to make character traits clear.

Sam was a Ring-bearer in the book, as well as Frodo. This was another instance of Sam’s heroics being left out of the movie, but it did serve to keep Jackson’s story powerful and efficient. Book readers, at least, were aware that Sam was one of the main heroes of The Lord of the Rings. Jackson ensured that Sam was by Frodo’s side at the end of their quest, maintaining his key importance and hammering home his loyalty, strength, and love for Frodo.

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1 Boromir Died At The End Of The Fellowship Of The Ring

Boromir Didn’t Die This Early In The Book

Boromir died in both The Lord of the Rings book and movie trilogy, but he died earlier on in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Boromir died near the end of The Fellowship of the Ring, but in the book, he didn’t die until part two – The Two Towers. Boromir’s death nicely bookended the action of the first movie and was a suitable end for his character arc.

Boromir went through poignant character development throughout Jackson’s first Lord of the Rings movie, and his death was a tragic but fitting resolution to it. Having reached his low point in trying to take the ring from Frodo, Boromir redeemed himself to the point of making the ultimate sacrifice. This had huge power placed at the end of The Lord of the Rings’ first movie.

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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 Expand

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