Although the on-screen Lord of the Rings franchise dominated the movie industry in the early 2000s, it’s been a while since any new projects made serious waves on the big screen. Peter Jackson returned to direct a trilogy of movies based on The Hobbit several years after his celebrated original Lord of the Rings trilogy concluded, but those movies failed to meet the success of their predecessors. Since then, an animated movie, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, was released in 2024, but it likewise didn’t meet the heights of Jackson’s first three movies.
Now, along with The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3, which is expected later this year, two new movies, The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum and The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past, are in the works. The former is set during the 17-year gap in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, and the latter takes place after The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (with a jump to the past as well). These two, in particular, can make changes to Peter Jackson’s movies.
Farmer Maggot Needs A Redemption
Although Farmer Maggot is only briefly seen in The Fellowship of the Ring, he is actually an important character in the books. More than that, Farmer Maggot is depicted as heroic in the books (which isn’t the case in the movies). In The Fellowship of the Ring, Farmer Maggot is seen on screen once, when the Nazgûl are searching the Shire for the Ring and ask for “Baggins.” Terrified, Farmer Maggot directs the Nazgûl to Hobbiton. He is later heard chasing Merry and Pippin off of his farm, as well.
Yet, in the books, Farmer Maggot is instead depicted as a hero, effectively defying the Nazgûl and telling them to leave. While neither The Hunt for Gollum nor Shadow of the Past should rewrite this Fellowship of the Ring scene, given that they both intersect with the events of that movie, Farmer Maggot could (and should) be given a more redemptive scene or two, to better represent his book self.
The Barrow-wights Must Be Introduced
Although story details for both The Hunt for Gollum and Shadow of the Past are being kept fairly under wraps, certain information has been confirmed. One such aspect of Shadow of the Past that has been confirmed is that the flashes back in time will include chapters from The Fellowship of the Ring that were not included in Jackson’s movie. Among them is the story arc featuring the terrifying creatures the Barrow-wights.
In fact, one of the chapters that will reportedly be used for the movie is “Fog on the Barrow-downs,” which is this very story. In Jackson’s movies, the ghoulish creatures had no appearance, and that was a bit disappointing in part because the reason the Witch-king was eventually able to be killed was because Merry acquired a Barrow-blade during this story—something that has not been explored on screen (yet, hopefully).
The Heroes Should Be Less Inclined To Violence
Among the more significant changes to the Lord of the Rings heroes in Jackson’s movies is the speed with which they decide violence is the best course of action, which defies their book characterizations. As just one example, in The Return of the King, Aragorn swiftly decapitates the Mouth of Sauron because of what he is saying about Frodo and how he is taunting Aragorn and the others.
This is a significant departure from both that specific moment in the book (in which the Mouth of Sauron retreats) and Aragorn’s characterization overall. J.R.R. Tolkien was not in favor of violence, although he obviously depicted wars, so this goes against that portrayal. Hopefully, especially given that heroes like Gandalf and Aragorn are confirmed to be returning in The Hunt for Gollum, that can be corrected.
The Grey Company Must Be Referenced, If Not Depicted
Yet another Aragorn connection, in the books, the Grey Company, led by Halbarad and the sons of Elrond and comprising thirty Dúnedain, assisted Aragorn through the Paths of the Dead. In the movies, however, the Grey Company does not play a role in this story arc. This is a shame in part because it would have grounded the Army of the Dead narrative a bit more.
More disappointing is the fact that this deprived audiences of the opportunity to see more about the Dúnedain, which is clearly a pivotal part of Aragorn’s story, yet it is only lightly touched upon throughout the original trilogy. Given the stories that Lord of the Rings’ upcoming projects will span, there will hopefully be an opportunity for the Grey Company to at least get a mention.
Frodo’s Characterization Can Better Match His Book Character
There’s no doubt that Elijah Wood was absolutely brilliant in the role of Frodo and is one of the most beloved Lord of the Rings actors—and one of the few confirmed to be returning in the new movie(s)—for a reason. Even so, his depiction of Frodo was not entirely book accurate. In fact, whereas Wood was about 18 when he took up the role of Frodo, in the book, the heroic hobbit is in his 50s, which is in part by nature of the 17-year gap in The Fellowship of the Ring.
With that older age comes a greater sense of maturity and wisdom, compared to Frodo’s more youthful naivety in the movies, at least early on. While the new movies almost certainly won’t want to significantly alter any core characters’ personalities, it’s possible that Frodo in The Hunt for Gollum could better match the books, especially considering that Elijah Wood is now in his 40s.
Tom Bombadil Should At Least Be Mentioned
One of the most controversial decisions Peter Jackson made in his original Lord of the Rings trilogy was leaving out the very powerful but also quite mysterious character Tom Bombadil. In the books, Tom plays an important role particularly in the hobbits’ confrontation with the Barrow-wights. For that reason, it’s possible that Tom will actually make an appearance in the upcoming movies.
That may lead to its own host of other issues, especially considering Tom’s absence in the original movies, but he should at the very least be referenced, as Shadow of the Past will be revisiting this story.
The Fellowship Of The Ring’s Time Jump Must Be Acknowledged
Finally, The Hunt for Gollum in particular must address the 17-year span of time that takes place in The Fellowship of the Ring. It is in this window of time that Gandalf and Aragorn search for Gollum, so it would make sense for the movie to highlight just how much time passes on this quest. By contrast, if viewers of The Fellowship of the Ring weren’t familiar with the books, it would be easy to think that mere months pass between Bilbo Baggins’ departure and Gandalf returning to Frodo to tell him about the Ring.
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