Trolls are among the more frightening beasts in Middle-earth, and the Lord of the Rings movies have demonstrated some of their different variations. Author J.R.R. Tolkien went to great lengths to fill his fictional world with living things. The races of Elves, Men, Dwarves, and Hobbits made up the forces of good, but there had to be dark creatures to face them in battle. The villain Sauron’s forces were made up predominantly by different sorts of Orcs, but other despicable creatures allied themselves with the Dark Lord as well—an example being the trolls.

Trolls were first introduced in Tolkien’s The Hobbit, where they served as one of the first nasty villains Bilbo Baggins faced on his adventure with the Dwarves. From there, Trolls continued to appear as powerful but disposable forces on Sauron’s side of the various battles and conflicts. The same is true for the Lord of the Rings movies. Peter Jackson’s original trilogy, as well as the Hobbit movies and 2024’s The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim all featured a troll or two at one point or another. However, these beings differed depending on their type and origin.

5

Mountain Trolls

The Worker Trolls Of Lord Of The Rings

Mountain trolls are perhaps the most common type in The Lord of the Rings. They are mᴀssive and strong, but lack any evidence of intelligence. The orcs treat them like pack animals, and they are seen to serve a similar role in both the page and screen versions of The Lord of the Rings. While other types of trolls are more like traditional soldiers, mountain trolls are tasked with stupidly hauling heavy loads or breaking down barriers.

As far as the Lord of the Rings movies, mountain trolls are seen in Two Towers and Return of the King. These beasts are chained to the mechanisms that open and close the Black Gate in Mordor, and are spurred into action by orcs with whips. Mountain trolls are also seen in Return of the King when they pushed the mᴀssive wolf-headed battering ram, Grond, toward the gate at Gondor.

4

Cave Trolls

The Underground Fighters

Cave trolls are likely the most recognizable of the Lord of the Rings franchise thanks to Boromir’s line in The Fellowship of the Ring—”They have a cave troll.” Like their mountain fellows, cave trolls are utilized in The Lord of the Rings for their brute strength. However, as far as the movies are concerned, cave trolls seem to be a tad more intelligent. They are more practiced fighters, and are at least capable of analyzing their opponents for weaknesses and determining their risk. However, they are still treated like animals in The Fellowship of the Ring, where they enter battle in chains.

The cave troll in Fellowship of the Ring ᴀssumedly lived in Moria with the orcs who settled there, and was set free to confront the intruders. This troll wore no armor, but it was seen to be highly resistant to the weapons used against it by Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and the Hobbits. Perhaps the most effective tool against the cave troll was Frodo’s sword, Sting, though this likely came down to the well-placed wound to the creature’s foot.

3

Stone Trolls

Trolls That Turn To Stone In Sunlight

The stone trolls of The Hobbit are significantly different from those in The Lord of the Rings. Though equally despicable and villainous, the three that Bilbo met on his journey were more comical than menacing. Their names were Tom, Bert, and William, and they could speak with one another and their victims. Even more distinguishing is that the stone trolls are so named because they turn to stone when exposed to sunlight.

Trolls, like orcs, are sensitive to the sun and therefore can’t safely be out during the day. However, the stone trolls of The Hobbit are the only beings that turn into statues. Overall, the difference here can be attributed to the tonal shift Tolkien applied to The Lord of the Rings compared to The Hobbit. Regardless, Jackson adopted the sillier version of trolls for his The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

2

Olog-Hai

Sauron’s Super Trolls

The word “Olog-hai” is never mentioned in the Lord of the Rings movies, or even in the central books. Tolkien mentioned this word for trolls in the Appendices of Return of the King, where he explained that these were the types of trolls on the battlefield at the Battle of Pelennor Fields and the Battle of the Morannon. Like the Uruk-hai, the Olog-hai were trolls the Dark Lord genetically altered to serve his purposes better on the battlefield.

Tolkien said that the Olog-hai were larger and stronger than standard trolls, and were less unpredictable and more compliant (so they didn’t need to be chained by the orcs who commanded them). Additionally, the Olog-hai weren’t sensitive to sunlight. They wouldn’t transform like the stone trolls or be injured like cave and mountain trolls. Aragorn fights an armored Olog-hai in the The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King movie during the Battle of Morannon.

1

Snow Trolls

The Monsters That Aided The Dunlendings

Snow trolls are another version of these beasts described in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Little is said about how they differ from other types of trolls, though it can be ᴀssumed that they are better fit for freezing temperatures. Tolkien stated that snow trolls were present during the Dunlending siege on the Hornburg during and following the death of Helm Hammerhand, king of Rohan.

Helm Hammerhand’s rule and death are central to the animated Lord of the Rings movie, War of the Rohirrim. The New Line Cinema and Warner Bros film featured animated versions of the snow trolls at what would eventually be named Helm’s Deep, just as Tolkien described.