There are a few key reasons, both in-universe and out-of-universe, why Wargs looked completely different in The Hobbit from The Lord of the Rings. Peter Jackson’s Hobbit and Lord of the Rings movies put New Zealand on the map as a site of moviemaking magic and popularized J.R.R. Tolkien’s magical novels worldwide, but divided fans as to their quality. While The Lord of the Rings movies are generally cherished by most as faithful and brilliant adaptations of Tolkien’s 1954 masterpiece (The Lord of the Rings), The Hobbit is often considered inferior, and the Wargs may play into that.
The Hobbit trilogy still consтιтutes some of the best high fantasy movies around, even though it struggled with comparisons to The Lord of the Rings, Jackson’s magnum opus. The Hobbit’s enduring commercial success doesn’t stop fans from pointing out the things about it that don’t make sense, and one of those is why its Wargs look so different from those in The Lord of the Rings. Set before Frodo’s mission in The Lord of the Rings timeline, The Hobbit trilogy offered prequel-worthy Orcs, which can actually be explained in-universe, despite the confusion.
The Wargs In The Hobbit & The Lord Of The Rings Came From Different Places
The Hobbit’s Wargs Were Inherently Different From Those In The Lord Of The Rings
In-universe, the difference between the appearance of the wild wolf creatures in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit was that they came from different places and may have had different origins. This explanation for the difference in the trilogies’ Wargs has layers. Firstly, only The Hobbit’s use of Orcs was faithful to Tolkien’s work – the eponymous 1937 children’s book. Faithfully incorporated into the story, these Wargs had their own tribe, but often allied with their local Orcs in the Misty Mountains. The Wargs in LotR hailed from Isengard.
The Warg ambush appears in “The Wolves of Isengard,” scene 25 of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.
Described as “evil wolves over the Edge of the Wild” in The Hobbit, the Wargs of the Misty Mountains encountered by Bilbo, Thorin, and company were a wild and native band of Wargs. Peter Jackson made up the Warg ambush scene in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers movie. This is one of the few instances of The Hobbit being more faithful than LotR. In The Two Towers, Théoden referred to the Wargs as “wolves of Isengard,” which is where Saruman was breeding Uruk-hai and may have been altering Wargs too. Regardless, Jackson’s Isengard Wargs were unique.
Movie Technology Changed Between The Hobbit And The Lord Of The Rings
Peter Jackson Had More Creative Options For The Hobbit
Although Jackson invented Isengard Wargs for The Two Towers, he had more creative options for Wargs by the time of The Hobbit, due to advancing technology. Wargs only attacked the members of the Fellowship of the Ring at night in Eregion in the book, and Jackson originally planned this scene for The Fellowship of the Ring, but cut it. And yet, Jackson had an ambitious vision for his Wargs that he wanted to get right. The Wargs ended up fully CGI in The Two Towers, impressively, while actors sH๏τ the scene in Twizel, Mackenzie Country, at daytime.
The Warg ambush scene can be watched in the extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers as scene 34.
Moved from a night scene to a day scene, Jackson’s fabricated Isengard Wargs still stand the test of time exceedingly well. This scene helped Jackson abbreviate Tolkien’s story. Yet, for Jackson, the results of his vision didn’t quite match his ambition. In The Hobbit, Jackson could finally create the wolf-lion hybrid he was aiming for in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring movie (Computer Graphics World). To do this, visual effects supervisor Eric Saindon aided Eric Reynolds’ team with new Barbershop software and motion capture suits for Alsation dogs.
Despite More Advanced Technology, The Lord Of The Rings’ Wargs Are Better
The Lord Of The Rings Wargs Are More Popular With Fans
The Hobbit movies are much-maligned by The Lord of the Rings fandom due to their deviations from canon, despite their popularity with the general populace, and this generally holds true for the Wargs in it. While the Wargs in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings both have their own merits, many fans argue that The Lord of the Rings’ Wargs appear more realistic somehow. This is a curious phenomenon, since Peter Jackson filmed The Hobbit at 48 frames per second (fps), giving it a hyperrealistic aesthetic, eliminating screen blur and increasing clarity.
Although blurrier than The Hobbit’s Wargs, LotR’s Wargs had the romance and drama of deeply saturated film pH๏τography.
It was precisely this that many viewers found off-putting about The Hobbit. Jackson thought a higher frame rate would make the movie more immersive, and generally pushed for its use in cinema, but it wasn’t widely adopted. This was partially what went wrong with The Hobbit trilogy, with many fans reporting a “reality TV” atmosphere that took them out of the high fantasy mentality. Although blurrier than The Hobbit’s Wargs, LotR’s Wargs had the romance and drama of deeply saturated film pH๏τography, which suited fantasy better than The Hobbit’s heavily digital look.
In Middle-earth Lore, All Wargs Likely Came From The Same Source
Wolves Always Had Evil Connotations In The Lord Of The Rings
Although a mysterious species in The Lord of the Rings legendarium of English high fantasy originator J.R.R. Tolkien, Wargs were suggested to have all sprung from one source. Although the diverse Wargs in the New Line Cinema movies can be explained, all Wargs may have sprung from wolves corrupted by evil. In The Silmarillion, Tolkien referred to wolves and creatures in the shape of wolves appearing allied to Morgoth in the First Age. Morgoth bred dragons, while “It may be that [Sauron] was involved in the dark magics that created [werewolves]” (The Lays of Beleriand).
More different Wargs can be viewed in Amazon Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: the Rings of Power.
Possibly, Lord of the Rings’ original villain Morgoth corrupted wolves into Wargs the same way he corrupted Elves into Orcs. If Wargs weren’t the result of one of Morgoth’s unholy breeding programmes, it is just as likely that they were a product of Sauron’s sorcery, like werewolves. White wolves invaded Eriador in the Third Age at some point, and it wasn’t clear whether they were Wargs, werewolves, or ordinary wolves. What was clear was that wolves’ cruelty to the Free Peoples of Middle-earth in The Lord of the Rings pointed to a dark allegiance.
Source: Computer Graphics World
The Hobbit
The Hobbit film series is a fantasy adventure trilogy directed by Peter Jackson, based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel The Hobbit. Set 60 years before The Lord of the Rings, the films follow Bilbo Baggins’ quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug. The series grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide and is known for its elaborate visuals and epic storytelling.
- Created by
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Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Guillermo del Toro
- First Film
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The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
- Latest Film
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The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
- Cast
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Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Luke Evans, Lee Pace, Orlando Bloom
- Video Game(s)
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LEGO The Hobbit
Summary
The Hobbit film series is a fantasy adventure trilogy directed by Peter Jackson, based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel The Hobbit. Set 60 years before The Lord of the Rings, the films follow Bilbo Baggins’ quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug. The series grossed nearly $3 billion worldwide and is known for its elaborate visuals and epic storytelling.
