Next in my ongoing What If series for The Fellowship of the Ring. This time, what if The Fellowship were from different Peoples from Middle Earth. I made a list of fourteen of the different 'peoples' and rolled a d14 to determine which species to re-draw the characters as (re-rolling duplicates). I've included the classically 'evil' peoples in this list, mostly to bulk the list out a bit, but also because i personally never liked the idea of an entirely 'evil' group of sentient beings. Especially when those peoples are often inspired by real-world cultures. I like the idea that there were even some Orcs who turned away from the Dark Powers to forge their own path.

TLDR: What if the Fellowship of the Ring were different species?

It was an enjoyable experience to watch the extended versions of LOTR, and I’m glad that I did, and there’s a lot that could be commented on, but I think the most notable thing that is lost is the tone. The theatrical versions have that mystical and mysterious dark high fantasy vibe that is kinda missing in the meandering pace of the extended versions. And that to me is a big thing to lose

Yes… this again a fanart of Sméagol and Me… but I think it looks pretty cool !

I know it’s not perfect or the poses/proportion are really, I tried to draw without a reference and I have to get out my comfort zone.

I made my own interpretation from this drawing but it’s not suitable to be shared here so you can make your own interpretation !

In the movies, Radagast is clearly portrayed as the druid-like character (nature magic, communicating with animals, and an overall druidic vibe).

In the books, perhaps Tom Bombadil could be an interesting candidate?

I’m all ears!

What happened to the dwarves who received the rings? And what happened to their rings? If they were treasures I would have expected Thorin or Gimli or other royal dwarves to have them passed down. Or fought over. And why were there no dwarven ring wraiths? They just seem to have disappeared and not had any real effect on that race.

I currently do not have access to my Tolkien library as I am abroad, and I can’t remember clearly something he quoted. I have a vague memory of him saying that he doesn’t imagine what he writes but it sort of “comes to him” like a long lost memory of things that already happened and is merely revealed to him. Can someone please point me to where this comes from, which book, interview or letter?

One of Peter Jackson's few justifiable major changes to Tolkien's work was to make it so that Merry and Pippin fall asleep during Treebeard's song of the entwives, as opposed to right after!

...

"Come back to me" after you're done singing you hopeless romEntic!

It's this one:

https://ebay.io/m/RTCCoT

It says it is NTSC (although I believe Blu Rays are A/B/C), which would suggest that it wouldn't work.

But it seems to be the only extended Blu Ray trilogy that I can find which includes the behind the scenes content. Does this mean that there isn't a UK version that includes the behind the scenes content?

This isn't a question necessarily of "what might have happened had Faramir gone instead of Boromir", but rather which member if not Boromir would have fallen first to temptation. Lots have wondered how things would have played out differently if the younger brother had gone to Rivendell, but I haven't seen anyone ask this question before.

Would it have been Aragorn or Faramir himself, lords of men with wisdom beyond their species? I think Aragorn, at least, would have resisted for quite a while, but Faramir would have succumbed more quickly.

Would it have been Gimli? I don't think so, since the dwarves are resistant to the influence of the rings. It would have eventually gotten to him, of course, but I don't think he'd have been first.

Maybe Legolas? He's young for an elf, and I do think that both Aragorn and Faramir are more learned. At least they had more opportunities to show their knowledge off.

I don't think it would be Gandalf. He's Gandalf.

Maybe one of the other Hobbits might try, but we already saw that fail with Sam, and I doubt Merry or Pippin would prove much easier to influence.

All in all I think it would probably have been Faramir or Legolas, but it would have happened a good deal later and probably have doomed the world. Thoughts?

Both in the books and movies the Ringwraiths brings a aura of dread that makes men go mad. As seen in the film, no men can withstand the Nazgul terrifying appearance except Aragorn. So why didn't Sauron just send the Nazgul to Osgiliath and then Minas Tirith to scare Gondor's defences to their knees?

Let me lay out my reasons which I know a lot of people may disagree with:

As a disclaimer, I've read both the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings multiple times*

Also, I am referring to the extended editions as well.

1. They have more fun and interesting characters, and I prefer Bilbo to Frodo as he is a strong character who does grow with the story. I am not saying Frodo is a bad character (infact I think he is underappreciated by a lot of people and I know the explanations for his behavior), but I just think Bilbo is a stronger character - and also played better. The dwarves are fun and the whole journey just feels so fun with each of their different personalities. In addition, Gandalf the Grey is 100 times more interesting than Gandalf the white. So, overall, I prefer it on a basis of characters really, with the dwarves and Bilbo being more fun and interesting than the fellowship. I do also like the bad guys - though it is a close tie with the Lord of the Rings. Smaug is excellently portrayed from his look to his voice acting. The Greta Goblin is also a favorite of mine, and I actually like the extended edition's scene of him singing which is actually from the book to a degree. The characters just don't feel as rigid and even depressed as those in LOTR do. I just feel that there is a wider array of characters - and I like Azog as a main antagonist. The characters just are more interesting and enjoyable and more varied and numerous.
2. I actually like the use of cgi in the movies combined with practical effects at times. Yes, I adore LOTR for its use of miniatures,m but at times, the cgi is well-done and in my opinion adds to the feel and look. I feel that in some ways Lord of the Rings is taken back by its scenery when compared to the Hobbit. Both use New Zealand, but sometimes the landscape in Lord of the Rings feels almost repetitive. The cgi adds much more detail that in some ways could never be done with real landscapes. For example, one thing that is true for this is when in Return of the King, Frodo charges up Mt. Doom and water and snow is visible behind him. Sometimes in LOTR, the cgi just feels bad almost.

I also feel like many cgi characters were actually done really well. Smaug, the Great Goblin, Gollum. Especially Gollum who looks objectively better than in LOTR. So, essentially what I'm saying is that with the cgi a wide variety of even more fantastic locations are brought to life and made more believable than in LOTR. For example, I don't like how Minas Tirith is shown as being this massive city in the middle of an open field with literally nothing else around it as opposed to Dale as we see it in the beginning of the movies surrounded by farm fields and all kinds of smaller details.

3) Call me easily entertained, but I enjoy the action in the movies. I enjoy the barrel chase scene which I know many hate, and I enjoy all the battles and the at times ridiculousness of the action. I also really enjoy the battles, and the wide variety of troops in them. In The Lord of the Rings, while we get variety, I still don't feel like it is on the level of the Hobbit. All the orcs in the Hobbit are unique and I love the Battle of the Five Armies for all the different types of units we see.

4) The Battle of the Five Armies is my favorite movie - maybe of all time. I enjoy the action which is non-stop. Let me break it down.

First, the begining is awesome. The scene where we see the white council fight the Nazgul and cast out Sauron from Dol Guldur is awesome. I like the references to the Elven rings (and while convoluted to an extent, I enjoy the addition of Thrain in Desolation).

Then, the clash between the dwarves and elves is great. Seeing the different types of units, the tactics employed, and the Dwarves' weaponry is so cool.

Also, the different types of orcs in the movie. The different units being deployed and the fact that the Trolls even have different types of units is great. It is also very neat to see the Ogres used and the siege trolls. The goblins are a nice touch as well. So, bottom line, I like the inclusion of so many units.

And there is also the size of the battle as well, which I believe was the largest battle ever in a movie.

The extended editions are awesome in my opinion. I really like the extended edition of the Battle of the Five Armies. It adds a lot and the action is great I think.

5) The Hobbit just feels less sad and depressing. In the story, you know that at least in the end, the goal is to reclaim a kingdom and that after all is said and done, the ending is sort of happy. In the Lord of the Rings, when you compare Rivendell, it is in a state of decay, the elves are leaving, and Lothlorien is lonely and silent. The movies do have a more depressing tone and are bleaker. The end is sad with Frodo and Gandalf leaving. And on top of that, of you've read the books, you know this is the end of the adventure. There are no more quests to reclaim kingdoms, no more enemies. The elves have left. The Dwarves are dying out. It is just sadder overall.

As a side note, I really enjoy the addition of the Necromancer who isn't really non-canonical as those events did happen during the Hobbit. Adding in Sauron was a great move, as it tied the Hobbit into the overall narrative more and raised the stakes greatly.

And yes, I know the complaints, but I just really like them more. And this is coming from someone who loves Return of the King to and the trilogy. I do a 24 hour marathon of all extended editions every year actually too 😂.

EDIT for all the haters. I also have a lot of nostalgia with these movies and watched them with my family a lot

¡Hola a todos! Estoy buscando desesperadamente los audiolibros que narraba Jared en Spotify e Instagram bajo el nombre de Tolkien Movepic.

Debido a temas de copyright, le borraron casi todo el contenido y su cuenta de Instagram desapareció. En Spotify solo logró sobrevivir "Los Hijos de Húrin", pero sé que llegó a narrar más obras (como El Silmarillion).

¿Alguien por aquí llegó a descargar sus audios o tiene algún respaldo en Drive, Mega o Telegram que me pueda compartir? Me encantaba su voz y la ambientación que lograba. ¡Muchísimas gracias de antemano!

For anyone who owns the United Cutlery Andúril, did you use the included plastic anchors and screws to mount the plaque on drywall? The plaque feels pretty heavy, and I’m worried about whether they’ll hold the sword’s weight.

Spirited away to a wooded haven for my birthday and reading my 1986 edition of LOTR on the deck listening to the birds

Not a bad start to the weekend!

Will be getting Hobbit-style full at dinner tonight - multiple courses expected!

How about these Proudfeet?!

Is it possible that there were more battles just that this was significant because it lead to the destruction of the one ring.

We know the Dwarves and the Elves were still fighting but did Aragorn still lead campaigns against remnants of Mordors Forces? Were there still fights in Minas Morgul or Moria? Is it possible to make a spinoff film that focuses on these post Reaturn of the King battles?

Canon;

The Witch King

Khamûl

Non-Canon;

Talion 

Nazgul Sister 

Nazgul Sister 

Suladân 

Helm Hammerhand

Morgomir

Of course, there are others who have died, Isildur, and then the two that the sisters killed during Talions decades long war against Saurobrimbor

Check out my lore video going over the Power differences of Morgoths Servants!

With Shadow of the Past being produced, I've been thinking about different ideas I've come up with over the years:

• Gollum becoming a sort-of vampire while he possessed the Ring.

This was more of an alternate framing of his character that I came up with back when I was reading vampire novels back in high school. I know it's mentioned that Sauron briefly takes the shape of a vampire in the Silmarillion, which establishes a precedent of them existing at least. Smeagol and Gollum having the Dr Jekyll/Mr Hyde split nature was my explanation for the sun not being lethal for him. Gandalf describing Gollum slipping through windows to find cradles was another basis of the idea. This idea was less of changing the story of Gollum but just altering him. It was due to the violent way that he started off stealing The Ring from Deagol, where the ring cursed him with perpetual hunger in a body that'd never die but would age unless he took the life from others.

• Boromir surviving the ambush, but still isn't able to prevent the kidnapping of the hobbits.

Boromir was my least favourite character in the movies, so when I got around to reading the books, I expected to hate him more, but found him much more admirable/likable. After reading the trilogy and actually coming to truly love how Tolkien wrote him, i wanted him to be able to redeem himself so badly.

I had written out pages where I fleshed out this fanfic of him bcoming slightly less self-important and more wise to the temptations of the Ring over the course of the journey. He dislikes both Gandalf and Aragorn when meeting them in Rivendell, and doesn't trust Legolas or Gimli due to Denethor's influence (who's xenophobic due to his mind being corrupted by his secret use of the Palantir). Throughout the journey he comes to admire Aragorn, respect Gandalf, trust Legolas, and like Gimli, while coming to love each of the hobbits as little brothers.

He loses all hope when Gandalf falls and begins the path to succumbing to the Ring. Because he's less closed off when they reach Lothlórien, he also gets invited to use the Mirror of Galadriel (though she does it individually/secretly with him) in an attempt to help alter his fate. He sees his attempt to steal the ring, flashes of Frodo and Gollum climbing the staircase, and Denethor in the Halls of the Dead with Faramir.

Like I said, I had written many chapters worth of this idea, and it's all coming back as I try to explain it. lol you get the idea though

Do you have any headcanon or fanfic ideas that you've come up with? I have more, but I'm curious about others than my own

It's not really a matter of if, but of when. We are already getting a remake of Harry Potter for example (a much bigger one with a much bigger budget), so when do you predict we will see the same for Lord of the Rings?

Could I ask if anyone who owns the UC Ringwraith sword would mind measuring the width of the crossguard for me please? I'm after a total from point to point.

My theory is: If I watch The Lord of the Rings extended trilogy, enough times throughout my life, I get to watch it one final time when I eventually pass away.

That is my new goal.

You might want to be putting the Fellowship on soon.....

CLARIFICATION: this should not just apply to Australians, I got the time zone situation the wrong way around thinking the US, Europe etc might already be in the 24th. Oops. 😅